Pages

Monday, October 31, 2011

10 Things That Make Me Terribly Happy


Today my SIL (sister-in-law) Jamie, featured the 10 things (plus a few extra) that make me terribly happy on her blog, J+K!  Check it out
If you aren't following Jamie's blog, you really should.  She is very witty and between new house projects, running out of gas while driving, or hosting a mustache party, she's always got a good story to tell... and has great pictures to go along with it!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Upstairs Furniture Shuffle!

My husband works on averages of 6.5 days out of the week - fortunately a lot of this work is done in our "home office" so he is not an absentee spouse.  I do crafty projects on average of once every one or two weeks (if I am lucky).  In our home I have a craft room... he has a little desk in room that shares space with a guest bed and my bookshelf.  It was not the most balanced situation (although I have been on the benefiting end so I did not mind too much).

(the little desk in the office)

I am not the neatest person ever and so my craft room tends to get a bit... cluttered to put it mildly.  After several discussions on the subject, we decided to do the furniture shuffle.  The big desk that I used for sewing and storage moved to the home office.  Also moving to this room is the printer, copier, and various office supplies currently being housed in my craft room.  
(the "big" desk... in my messy craft room)

(the big desk in the clean office)

The bookshelf is undergoing a paint renovation and will be relocated to a new home... (hopefully) to be announced later this week!  (I am pretty excited about it).
(the bookshelf... clean for the first time since I got it!)

I will be adding shelves and rearranging my craft room.  My books (I have WAY too many books) will have to find homes in my craft room (except for a couple collectibles which we will keep on a pretty shelve in the office).  

(I have WAY too many books)

My craft room needs a MAJOR clean up and reorganization.  This is okay - I can handle it.  I know I am super blessed to have a room solely for my projects and it should be a neat workable space so creative juices can flow freely.   

(craft room missing the big desk... this is where we plan for more shelves to go)

Meanwhile, framed pictures were moved to various rooms and minor projects were accomplished.  It was a very productive weekend night!  What do you think?  Any suggestions on good craft room organizational planning?

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Come to The Ark this Sunday!!!

Since 2008, my husband and I have attended The Ark Church in Conroe.  We LOVE this church...  so much so that we have said if we ever move move we want to be close enough to be able continue going to The Ark.  




The church seems to have an amazing children and youth programs, is casual (khaki shorts or jeans on Sunday are no problem), has great worship team and an amazing preacher.  They also bring in fantastic speakers and musical artist.

This next Sunday, October 30, Natalie Grant, an award winner singer, will be performing at both the 9:30 AM and 11:15 AM services.  She has some really great songs out now and it will be a treat to watch her live.  

Here is a video of her hit song, I Will Not Be Moved.



Whether you are looking for a church home, want a one time change on Sunday, or need encouragement, please consider coming to The Ark this Sunday!  

If you want to meet up so you have someone to sit with, please let me know!  We go to the 11:15 service.

450 Humble Tank Road
Conroe, TX 77304

I really hope to see you there!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Another (2) items off the bathroom to do list!


This past weekend the hubby painted the framed mirror in our bathroom white - item number  3 on my bathroom do over to do list!  

We replaced the regular mirror our house came with with a brown framed mirror.  At the time it was a big upgrade and we really liked it.  Then... I painted the bathroom and we decided the brown mirror no longer fit with the rooms decor. 

After putting tape and paper on the edge of the mirror, we spray painted and wala, two coats later its done!



He also added knobs to the cabinets (these knobs cost $1 for 10 at a garage sale a couple months back).

For such a small, easy fix it really made a change to the room.  

2 things down, 4 to go!  Still shooting for a pre 2012 completion to this project...

Monday, October 24, 2011

Fun Garage Sale Find!


I feel like a 7 year old posting this... but I had such an exciting garage sale find this weekend!  

A Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker!  Its the shape of a ball, you fill it with ingredients and shake it, toss it, roll it, then eat the yumminess in it!  Best of all, it was totally brand new, still in the box, and cost $1.00!  

It makes 1 pint and although we have not tried it yet, it came with some pretty great recipes that I am pretty sure will be tasty and enjoyed on the back porch.

Do you have any yummy homemade ice cream recipes to share?  Have you every used one of these balls?

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Could it be true? A Painted bathroom!

A while back I posted about my unpainted bathroom, a project that I could never get started.  Well as of today, its another project (halfway) crossed off my to-do list!  If you will recall, my master bath was very blah and not a happy room for me.  

After an amazing garage sale weekend, the bathroom project seemed to come to the top of my project list because I found everything needed for a bathroom redo for LESS THAN $5.

Except the project never happened.  All the components sat for several weeks in the bathroom corner, staring at me, begging for me to use them.  I finally decided to do something about it - nope, I did not start painting, instead I tried to shame myself into painting by posting about my serious procrastination on the project.  I really wanted to paint... but I had a trip to see my sister in the works, a wedding, and tons of other much better things to do.  

Well everything changed this past Friday.  In an effort to procrastinate on another project (i.e. work), I decided it was time to get out my paint brush and get to work.

In case you are wondering, it takes forever to paint a bathroom.  There was a ton of edges, corner, etc.  I did my first coat and was pretty proud of myself.  

My husband (who spent the day actually working) came home and said "it looks good but... [ uggh, the dreaded but!] I'll need to touch it up later".  That is exactly what I did not want to happen.  I love my husbands help, but he is really busy with work right now and he frankly does not have time for me to add a random project to his list.

I planned to let the paint dry and do touch ups the next day.  Then Saturday came and it was time for Aggie football...  then that night we had an event to attend.  I figured I would work on it Sunday.  But Sunday I was pretty tired from the event the night before and frankly, Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, right?!?!?!

To clarify, this entire time everything from out bathroom has been moved into our bedroom.  The mirror, the trashcan, the furniture pieces, etc.  EVERYTHING.  

Finally on Tuesday (4 days later... pretty pathetic, I know) I decided to actually finish the project - at least the painting portion.  I did some paint touch ups and brought in the bathroom necessities.  I let the hubby move the furniture piece back in later because it was too heavy.



I think the blue looks nice but I would really love to add a stencil like Carol at Giddings Lane did here - .  

I am so in love with this paint job she did!  

We also want to paint the mirror white so the entire room is blue and white and Joe is convienced we need to get rid of the furniture piece.  I do not disagree, I just am not sure where all my stuff will go.

To sum up the list of to-do's I still need to accomplish to actually wrap up the project:
  • Add a pattern to the walls
  • Find a different place for storage, remove white furniture piece
  • Paint mirror
  • Change or fix the light fixture
  • Apply my vinyl wall quote
Fingers crossed this project is finished before 2012!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

One Kings Lane :: Ideas for Using Free $15 Credit!

Yesterday I posted about a free $15 credit to One Kings Lane - if you signed up and are looking for $15 or less options, you should totally check out the Zak Designs store!  I found several kitchen items between $10 and $25 items.  The items are very cool looking, bright colored and would be perfect for a bright kitchen or even a graduation gift for a soon to be college student!



I'll keep on the lookout for other cheap options and let you know if I find anything especially great!

If you haven't signed up for One Kings Lane, do so now so you can get a free $15 credit!

Full disclaimer - if you sign up using my link and buy something, I will get a $15 credit... but if you refer someone and they buy something you can get a $15 credit too!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

One Kings Lane Free $15 Credit!


I just found One Kings Lane, another daily deal site like Groupon.  They seem to have upscale home goods... most of the stuff I have found is very pretty but out of my price range.  



They have had some items (kitchen bowls, napkin holder, ect) that are around $10.  That is a pretty super price because right now they are offering a free $15 credit to anyone that signs up for their website.  That means FREE goodies - and shopping for free is my favorite kind of shopping!  

I am hanging onto my credit for a little while until I find something I really like - but there is not guarantee that the credit will be available much longer... so sign up now!

Frequently these daily deal sites will offer $10 credits; when I see these I always sign up... several I have not used but its always good to have the free credits just in case!

Click HERE to get your $15 credit! 

What did you find on the site?

Thanks MyLitter!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Frustrating Shopping Experience.


I just wrote a book long post about a extremely frustrating experience at HEB.  I decided not to post it because it was purely a rant that provided absolutely no useful information to my readers, much less positive information.  Instead I am allowing myself to rant... just in a much shorter format.

Needless to say, I hate shopping there.  I avoid it, then about every other month I get suckered back to the store with the allure of a good deal.  The good deal rarely pans out because they have a confusing coupon policy that they can't figure out (even if you are in the right).  They aisles are crowed with oversized shopping carts, families with a billion kids out of control, and really slow walkers.  I end up leaving the store angry I tried to like it again because of a good deal.  I don't like HEB. 

Am I crazy that 5 hours after leaving the store I still find myself frustrated when I think about it?  Do you have any store that drive you completely batty?  Do you give them a second chance and, if so, do you routinely regret it?

Sweetest Day = Sweet Deal!

I just read that the 3rd Saturday of October is designated as the "Sweetest Day"... 




Wikipedia says this day "offers all of us an opportunity to remember husbands, boyfriends, the sick, aged and orphaned, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed". Sounds a bit like valentines day but I am happy to join in the celebration!

Lindseys Whimsys is celebrating the Sweetest Day this year by offering a 15% discount* on all Lindseys Whimsys rentals that are booked or stationary that is requested by October 22, 2012 (I am adding a week because I just discovered this fun holiday).  Just mention "The Sweetest Day" when you email lindseyswhimsys@gmail.com and you can get this sweet deal!

If you haven't checked out Lindseys Whimsys rentals, please do so and tell a friend!  these are perfect pieces for just about any special occasion.  You can also get custom made, personalized stationary from Lindseys Whimsys as well!  



Happy Sweet Day!   How do you plan to celebrate?


*Minimum rental of $75 required for discount.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Couponing at Target!


I LOVE Target... who doesn't though?!?!?  That being said, I always found it to be a bit more expensive so I never did grocery type shopping there.  However, my favorite couponing blogs regularly post great deals  at Target so I decided to dive in... and I have been WAY surprised by the fantastic deals out there.

Few things to note regarding Target:
- You can stack coupons at Target to get super great deals.  Stacking is when you take use both a store coupon and a manufacturers coupon for big savings
- Printable Target Coupons are here.  You can print up to two of each coupon... just select the coupons you want, print, and repeat the process... voila two of each coupon printed. I tend to print most coupons, even those I do not think I will use because they may match up perfectly with a manufacturers coupon or a clearance sale at Target
- Target regularly has coupons for clothes ($4 of kids jeans, $3 off ladies shirts, etc.)
- You can get Target mobile coupons texted to your phone.  I have found that these coupons are higher value then the printable store coupons.   At check out, just pull up the link from your text message and the cashier will scan your phone for the coupons.


Last night I went to Target and got the following:

2- Clorox Stain Fighting Pens 
2- Quaker Chewy bars 
2- Pretzel M&M's 9.9oz 
4- Hunts tomatoes cans
2 - Extra Gum packs
2 - Tic Tacs
1 - Transformers toy
1- Mabelline lip gloss
1 - Neutrogena face wash bar
2-  whisker Lickin's cat treats
1- Olay Regenerist face wash clothes

Retail cost: $48.57

Combining manufacturer coupons, Target printable coupons, Target Mobile coupons and clearance items I paid: $12.69

That is a total savings of $35.88... Pretty good shopping I think!

A few other things of note:
- I took advantage of some crazy good deals... but please note I only got 1-4 of each item.  I am totally against shelve clearing... let everyone save!
- At checkout, the younger guys are usually way easier to check out with then older men or old women (the older people tend to not be as coupon friendly).  Check out with a younger guy or a younger girl if at all possible when couponing (this is a pretty good rule of thumb anywhere, not just at Target... men couponers you should also follow this rule of thumb!!!

To find great Target deals, I follow these blogs:


Where have you found your best couponing deals?  Any surprising finds?

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Happy 31 Anniversary!

Happy 31th anniversary Billie and TC!  31 years and 1 day ago you tied the not.




In a day when lasting marriages are a rarity, you are a great example of a loving marriage with a foundation in Christ for me and Joe.

Thank you, love you, and congratulations!