Fabulous for $5!

As a self-proclaimed clearance guru, it's about time I share some of my found treasure! This time they're all from Target and cost $5 each! Not much to explain here--just take the time to dig through that clearance rack and you will be seriously rewarded! Always, Always, ALWAYS search clearance first! Work yourself into a routine to shop in advance for seasons & events and you will (almost) never need to look beyond the clearance rack. It only takes a couple weeks for the 'new' items to be marked down--and honestly that's not too long to wait when the savings is that huge!  I feel cheated when I break down, buy a full price item only to see it 50% or 75% off two weeks later! Ugh!

Lesson learned: for $25 I picked up wedge sandals, a not-so-basic LBD, pair of grey skinny jeans, bootcut dark wash jeans & a sparkly tank!

I Hope You Dance

As much as I L-O-V-E to clean out and get rid of things I no longer use--there are some things you can just never give away! I could never in a million years for a million dollars everyday get rid of my pointe shoes. On the other hand, it seems kind of pointless to keep them stashed up in a bag in furthest and highest corner of my closet. Those slippers are my reminder to enjoy life. If you haven't heard it, or if it's been a while listen to LeAnn Womack's 'I Hope You Dance'. Even if you weren't a dancer!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV-Z1YwaOiw)

One day I will get those shoes bronzed--or maybed 'pewtered', hang them on a satin ribbon where I can be reminded daily to enjoy my many blessings and take the paths God has set before me.

(lonelybandit.deviantart.com)

Actually, to be honest, I hope to hang these in my future daughters bedroom! I am absolutely in love with a ballet themed nursery. Imagine blush pink and soft whites, with tutus all around! I've got years till that's gonna happen, but Hey! A girl can dream! 

 (found on creative-baby-nursery-rooms.com)

Looks like I will have to cross my fingers that 1) I will eventually have a daughter and 2) she turns out to be a girly-girl who loves to dance like me! :) I guess I'd better prepare for the alternative--what if we only have boys?!! That'll be a dream (?) session for another day....

Thank you, thank you very much....!

It's essential to have a stash of "Thank You" cards. A written acknowledgement for anothers gift or kind act is an absolute must in this hustle & bustle world. But....5 cards for $8 or more? Not my type. Instead head out to your local crafts store (Michaels for me!) and purchase bulk package of 25 or 50 blank cards! These will cost you $5-$10---or less if you brought your weekly 40% coupon! Then proceed to the ever-exciting dollar bins, grab one of their many Thank You themed stamps and ink pad. Now get to work! In 10 minutes you can stamp away and have a great stash of thoughtfully made cards to show your gratitude. It's ALMOST as good as freshly baked chocolate chip Thank You cookies :)  Check out my quickie creation below:

Dessert Centerpiece

Had a great DIY day with my soon-to-be-married friend! Our plan is to use dessert as centerpieces for her wedding reception, but how to display? We decided to use a plate stand and then we got started shopping. Lots of cute ready-mades out there, but wow those prices add up quick! Luckily, I saved all the glass taper holders from my wedding (2/$1 at The Dollar Store!!!!) so we got some clear glass plates (also $1 @ The Dollar Store!) and started glueing! One little problem---Krazy glue does NOT dry clear...It turned the plates frosty. So we moved onto Plan B and took an emergency run to another one of my favorite stores, Michaels! We bought paper and various stamps and got right back on track. We did have some trouble finding a large initial stamp, so instead we used a wooden decoration as a makeshift stamp. Check out our creation!!!

Frosted glue on our otherwise pretty dessert stand :( Maybe you could paint the glass with the glue for an all-over frosted effect? Something to experiment with...

So our wooden "G" didn't stamp quite perfectly, but again its one of those happy failures!

I just love how these turned out! And what a fun wedding day keepsake for the bride & groom! And for just around $25 we made 7 dessert stands. Be sure to look for $1 deals at Michaels, Target and anywhere else you may be!

Time to Host!

I've quite an eventful spring ahead of me.  A good friend is getting married, I'm a bridesmaid (woohoo!) so we have tons of wedding prep, and I have two bridal showers for her to coordinate. So you'll probobly be seeing alot of birthday & wedding themed ideas in the next couple of months....

But first I want to share a flashback, my cousin and I threw a surprise anniversary party for our parents (they got married 3 wks apart!) 25th wedding anniversary. We came up with a really cute last-minute idea for the flowers--perfectly tied in who we were celebrating and didn't occupy precious space on the table for our heaping plates of BBQ! We had pre-printed OLD photos of our parents--like dating/early marraige, attached them to kabobs and stuck them in the floral arrangements. SUPER quick, SUPER easy, and fun conversation piece on each table!

Yes, you can be a photographer!

Got a new camera recently and got to test it out at Alcatraz! Certainly an inspiring place on many levels. Here's some of the shots I took, I'm going to get these printed on canvas to get a real textured look.

These were rusted storage doors along the harbor  where we got onto the ferry. I love the rich and distressed colors!

Below is a wall heating unit, again should look pretty cool on canvas!

Cement wall, with some brick and rock mixed in. I love that pop of red brick showing through!

And some more brick :) Amazing color variety from the aging of these buildings!

How fun to have a photo like this propped in a bookcase!

Curiously-creepy hallway, definately makes you wonder who else has wandered here...

Not sure what it is about this pic, but I just really like it! I actually meant to take it in color, but I haven't yet mastered quickly changing my camera settings yet! One of those accidents you're glad you made :)

So I'm sure you can see I am no way an experienced or techie photographer...I just take pictures of what's interesting!  I'm a big fan of textures in home decor, food and clothing, so I was just lookin for some of that variety on my trip to Alcatraz.  For all my photos I always use SnapFish (http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/welcome) for minor editing and printing. They've got lots of fun ideas for photo-gifts. Oh and don't forget fellow Coca-Cola lovers--use your My Coke Rewards points for free prints!



If you don't yet have an account, buy some Coca-Cola products and save the cap/box code to set up an account at http://www.mycokerewards.com/home.do . I was able to use my points for photo christmas cards too! There are tons of items to use your points for: magazine subscriptions, Coca-Cola gear, various coupons...Definately a great way to get those little extras--check it out!

Beginnings

Love,

Birthdays,

Anniversaries,

Flowers,

Good friends and good food,

Family,

The beach,

Antiques,

Vintage jewelry,

Country music,

and Another  (wo)mans trash!

These are a few of the sources for my inspirations, I look forward to sharing my thoughts and findings with you all! :)

Tanya