Goodwill and Target Clearance Finds {February Edition}

 On President's Day, most of the local Goodwills in this area do a 50% off sale.  I bundled up the kids bright and early and headed up there Monday morning!  Few things can motivate this night owl to wake up early like a Goodwill sale!  Or a yard sale...or a church sale...or an estate sale....you get the idea.  Haha!

I like this Goodwill better than the one nearer to my house because the prices are more reasonable. The one closer to me seems to forget that...oh, I don't know...everything there is DONATED and have been charging ridiculous prices the last few years!  (Like putting $12.99 on an out-dated shirt from Express circa 1997...wish I was kidding but they do stuff like that all the time!) 

This new (to me) store is overall much more reasonable.  I had both kids with me so I didn't get to look very well in the clothing sections like I wanted, because I had to still go grocery shopping afterward and I didn't want to test their patience.  Side note: I did bring two mini packs of M&Ms for them which definitely helped their motivation levels.  ;)  

I found a cute Starbucks mug, a sweet little ring dish with a bird on it,  a little ceramic bird, and a little pumpkin...all for 50 cents each! 

A glass jar (I have bigger versions of this and I love them), a mug that has become my new favorite in the last two days (lol), and a 2-cup Pyrex glass storage container - mug and jar were $1 each, and the Pyrex was only 50 cents! (Yay!) 

This Pyrex "fridgie" has seen waaaaay better days but for $3 I decided  to risk it and see if I could clean up the scratches and the damage.  I haven't tried yet but I'm going to see if I can!  If nothing else, the lids are hard to find and this one is in great shape with no chips or cracks...I'll use it on my other fridgies for sure! 

A clear locking container for Olivia's Peppa Pig toys, and a unopened package of rubber duckies (my kids are always thrilled with new bath toys!) - both $1 each.

I was sooo excited to find Crocs for Luke for only TWO DOLLARS, and rain boots for three dollars!!! The sneakers for Livi were only $1.50.  The rain boots and sneakers aren't my favorite patterns by any means, but they are just for play outside and they make my kids smile so it's a win-win. :)

And lastly, a few books for the kids - the "Look and Find" was $1, as was the collection of early readers, and the Olivia book  - because of course we collect Olivia books here!!! ;).

The last few pictures are a little dark because I forgot to re-take them all this morning when I took the other pics!  Haha!  

But I also found this pair of Gap "boyfriend" jeans for only $3.50 - when you have an apple shape like me it is nearly impossible to find a pair of jeans that fit your body - seriously, it's like a needle in a haystack.  So I was really excited to find some that can fit and for so cheap!! This picture is what I like to call "texting your sister in the middle of Goodwill to see if you can wear boyfriend jeans with flats because you have no idea how to style them..." Hahaha!

Yesterday I stopped at Target before visiting a friend because she has one 10 minutes from her that is sooo much nicer than the one closer to me! (Why are all the stores near me apparently so junky?? Haha!)  Anyway I had to pop in because I was dying to see what they had for Valentine's clearance and mostly hoping I could get my hands on one of the cute,cute Pyrex containers they released this year!  

And YAY they had a few!! So this pink one just HAD to come home with me for $2.50:

I also snagged some super cheap little Easter basket fillers!  The coloring packs and the little water bottle were only 50 cents each, and the rest varied from $1 - $1.99 for the Lego kit.  And yes this was taken on my bed because I was excitedly texting my friend Amber about the sale yesterday but I couldn't let the kids see what I was doing!  LOL!!

I also snagged this cute bucket, which is now in my laundry room, and this sweet little polka dot box for Olivia's room for her little jewelry collection (both for $1.50 as well!).  Again, sorry about the crooked, blurry picture! ;) 

Amber went today to see what she could find, and that same store was down to 70%!!  So I'm going to call in two days and see if they hit 90% and then I might take a ride back up. ;)

So yes, lots of fun little finds this week! :) 

P.S. I posted this on my Facebook page a few days ago (if you're not following me there, you're missing out! ;)) but my dear friend Amber started a blog recently and you should definitely pay her a visit!  She posts about her DIY projects, her grocery deals and menu plans, and life with a kiddo with Down Syndrome.  You should definitely pay her a visit! :) 

Easy (and DIY) Valentine's Decor - and a Peppa Pig Party!

Hi everyone!  I'm back with some pictures to share with you - Olivia turned 3 (how did that happen already?!) in January and we celebrated with friends and family this past Saturday.  (For the record, we did have gifts and cake on her actual birthday and then we took a family day to go to a children's museum - we just waited to celebrate with friends and family since we were doing a construction project in the house - more on that another time! - and we wanted the house to be cleaned back up first.) We got hit with a huge snowstorm on Friday, but thankfully everyone was still able to make it here on Saturday to celebrate with us! You have to love New England - we all just shovel out and keep on truckin'! ;)

I've had our Valentine's decor up for a while so it just worked out well that Peppa Pig colors are pink and red - it all worked, I think, as decorations! My favorite CHEAP way to decorate for Valentine's day (and for lots of holidays, really!) is to use PAPER!  Yup, cheap scrapbook paper is so affordable but can be used to really perk up a space when you don't have money for much else.  And if you fold it carefully, you can just put it in a folder and store it away safely each year! 

I have a heart punch I got a few years ago 50% off at Michael's...grab some scrapbook paper you like, and some baker's twine (even thread would work if you can't afford the twine!) and tape the hearts to the twine.  Voila! Instant garland that costs next to nothing. ;) 

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It's still hard to find a lot of Peppa Pig stuff since it's a British show and hasn't "exploded" over here quite yet.  Party City did have a small section of it - hooray! - but it was mostly blue and yellow to keep it gender-neutral and I didn't want to decorate much with that.  I did grab a few supplies...Livi and I went out together to buy the stuff for her party and she was in love with all of it, naturally. ;)  To keep it cheap I went mostly with pink and red - (Peppa is a pink pig and she wears a red dress) so I was able to just pick up plain pink and red balloons, streamers, tablecloths, and plates.  They are mostly from Walmart - their party stuff is super cheap!

I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the food!! I always forget to take pics of something at a party and this was it this time.  LOL  I kept it SUPER simple and it was soooo nice not to stress about food prep!  We ordered huge sheet pizzas from a local grocery store, and I just set out a variety of chips, dip, veggies, hummus, salsa, and guac.  Besides cutting up the veggies and making up some homemade ranch dip - oh, and making coffee! haha - everything else was pre-made.  It was so, so nice!  I highly recommend it!  ;) 

I did make the cake though! (Well...I should clarify that Pillsbury and I made the cake - I just happened to decorate the top! LOL) I copied a picture straight from Pinterest, so thank you to the genius person that uploaded this originally!! I showed my mom the original picture, and it was cut out like the shape of Peppa's head.  She told me to keep it simple and just frost the top instead of worrying about cutting it out and trying to frost the sides.  It was a great idea and I'm glad I did it this way instead!

We ate right when everyone came and then we did a little craft.  Our house is small and since the kids couldn't go outside in the snow I wanted them to have an activity to do.  I wracked my brain for an affordable idea that would work well for both boys and girls.  Finally I decided on homemade magnets!  I found a bunch of thin wooden shapes at Michael's for like 29 cents each and then got two packs of heavy-duty magnets.  I super-glued the magnets and set out acrylic paints (I had most of them but I picked up a few more colors at Walmart) in old muffin tins I had that we use for painting.  Each kid got to pick two (this was just some of the choices below) and it was fun to see their creativity!  

I know my kids love to display their artwork so I thought it would be a cute way for them to show their own artwork on their fridge at home.  They seemed to all have fun! And it was a relatively cheap craft, too! Yay! :)  

After the magnets we had cake and presents and then everyone stayed and played for a while.  It was such a wonderful party!  We had so much fun and we just felt so grateful for all the people that love our girl. :)  

The birthday girl had a GREAT time!  I found her shirt on clearance at The Children's Place for just a few dollars, she got new white leggings from Walmart, the Peppa headband from Party City, and the pink tutu she wore for her first birthday photo shoot and it still fits!  Haha! She is petite in the waist that's for sure! LOL

For favors I was again trying to think of something that would be useful to the kids and potentially their parents. ;)  I was able to find these paints on clearance at Walmart for only 97 cents each!! I got a 12-pack of mini Hershey's bars and then just wrapped scrapbook paper around the paint and then again around the candy.  

I wrote each kiddo's name on the card and for the girls I tied on 3 jelly bracelets with baker's twine.  The jelly bracelets were Target Valentine's clearance a year ago!  They came in a big bag and I was saving them for her next party! ;)  There were 3 boys at the party so they got to take a sticky "bug" toy home too.  

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day weekend!  I don't think we are going on a date on Sunday, but hopefully sometime later this month! We will, however, be shopping for a new microwave since ours died after a recent power outage.  #joysofadulthood

I found these cute felt envelopes at Target and I will be putting a few treats in them for my kiddos to open on Sunday! (And yes, I had to take this picture on my bed because I have to keep them hidden in my room.  lol)  

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! :) 

xoxo

Valentine’s Decor Around My House {2013}

Before I start, let me just say that if good quality photos are important to you, you’re gonna want to skip right over this post from me.  It has been cloudy here for 3 straight days, and since “She was patient” will never be inscribed on my gravestone, I decided to just wing it. 

So cloudy days combined with my cheapo camera combined with my stellar horrible photography skills…well just don’t say I didn’t warn you! :)

I am totally one of those people who’s like, “Oh, I’m having a baby soon?!  Clearly I must do something non-important and totally non-essential to prepare myself well for this life-changing event.”  haha!  I can’t explain why it was so important for me to decorate for Valentine’s Day, but having the house dressed up for the pink holiday somehow makes me able to complete on other, more crucial tasks…you know, like getting a hospital bag ready or putting baby sheets on the crib.  It’s like cleaning the cobwebs from my brain.  So weird but that’s how I’ve always been. 

So here we go!  Everything is super simple, probably thrifted, and mostly pink.  Red looks great in other people’s houses but it is not my color at all so you won’t see it here!

Here’s my “mantel” for Valentine’s:

 

My mom was getting rid of the old milk-glass vases and I thought they would look cute here.  I made the easy rosette out of felt for a pop of pink.

 

 

The “XOXO” is one of my fave TJ Maxx finds ever from years ago and I made the typewriter prints two years ago.  You can’t tell from the picture but they are actually covered with pink translucent paper.  If you are a Moulin Rouge fan you will notice that they are both quotes from songs they sing in the movie – and the typewriter font is a nod to Ewan MacGregror’s character.  “Come What May” was sung at our wedding so I love seeing some of those words printed out!

 

The little birdie is from Target last year and the pink plate was thrifted. 

 

Luke painted this little heart last year and I plan on pulling it out every year until he hates me for it.  haha!

 

Over the computer I made a simple little heart banner using a punch and that adorable wrapping paper from the Dollar Spot at Target this year.  It’s just taped to pink embroidery thread. 

 

I did the same garland for the kitchen chalkboard and added one of our favorite verses to it. 

 

 

The words above the kitchen sink were inspired by a print I saw from Jones Design Company.  Polka dots are so cheerful, aren’t they?! :)

 

 

In the dining room I added this adorable felted-heart ribbon that’s also from the Target Dollar Spot.  They had such cute stuff this year!

 

I finally got to use my pink tablecloth that I found at a church sale last spring!  It might be a little tacky but we do SO much at our kitchen table that having vinyl with a 3-year-old is really a lifesaver.  Oh and I totally know you’re jealous of the Cat in the Hat puzzle.  I contemplated taking it apart but realized it realllllly wasn’t worth it to me.  haha!

 

In our bathroom I just have this little free printable (which I LOVE) and a simple cylinder wrapped in pink tulle and secured with a bobby pin.  And sorry if you’re cringing over the flash – but our bathroom has no windows since it’s in the middle of our house.  Flash was the only way to show you the true colors!

 

Lastly (okay really firstly) is our front door.  I wanted SUPER simple so I just fashioned some simple pink and white felt rosettes and then hot-glued them right to the wreath form.  It’s so simple and I love it.  It got all whited out but you can see the detail in the second picture. 

 

And that’s pretty much it!  I’m happy to have a little bit of pink around the house to enjoy for a while!  And to welcome my baby girl home to in EIGHT DAYS! Whooo!!

 

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DIY: Accomplished @ Homemaker’s Challenge

Miscellany Monday {15}– Our Weekend

As of Saturday, we are officially “ONE AND ONE” in our adoption process! What that means is that we have ONE parenting class and ONE home visit left until we are good to go! Whoo hooo!!! (We are still waiting on our fingerprints to come back from the state but those are estimated to be ready about March 7th.)

Our social worker – who is awesome, by the way – said that he thinks we’ll be ready by mid-March. I’m saying April 1st so I don’t get my hopes up. (haha) We are SO ready to welcome another kiddo into our house!

 

 

I painted my nails yesterday.  It’s seriously ridiculous how grown-up I feel with dark nails.  hahaha! {Color is “Mink Muffs”}.  Thanks to my friend Kathy for suggesting the color and my husband for buying it for me for Christmas.  :)

 

Do you see these two pictures?  What do they have in common? 

    

Um…they should never be taken on February 13th!  Seriously…sugar ants in the bathroom (of all places!) and crocuses literally about 8 inches tall (I know, lovely landscaping – it will be improved this spring!)  It’s a crazy winter but I’m not complaining for one second. 

 

We went to Moe’s on Saturday night for dinner.   It was good but it was no Chipotle!  (I am a die-hard Chipotle lover.)  The food doesn’t taste as good and they move you along super fast and they have these glass barriers between you and the food when you order.  Except I literally had to stand on my tip-toes so they could hear me since the glass is so high and I’m pretty short.  I seriously felt like I was 8 years old.  However, they do serve grass-fed beef in their menu so to that I say, WELL DONE Moe’s!  Oh and a girl can’t complain about free chips and salsa.  :) Luke was so, so good for us which was such a blessing.  Toddler boys and restaurants don’t usually mix well.  Can I get an amen?!

 

Crazy that Valentine’s Day is tomorrow!  (Wasn't it just Christmas Eve?!)  Chris and I aren’t doing anything special since my parents are already kind enough to watch Luke once a week for us while we go to our parenting class, and we don’t want to stretch them too thin.  However, my husband did say he is getting me something “small” so of course I am looking forward to seeing what Tuesday brings!

What about you?  Do you go all out on Valentine’s Day or is it pretty low-key at your house?  I know some people hate it and some people love it so I’m curious to know.  If it was solely up to me it would be overflowing with flowers and gifts and nights out but clearly I am only one half of this relationship! haha

Happy Monday! 

 

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