Thrifty Finds

Goodness!

I feel like I'm brand new to the blogging world again! Remind me never take that long of a break from my blog ever again!

Well, I don't have a finished project to share today, but I did spend the morning hitting up some Gee-Double-Yuhs and garage sales with my mom.

Here are a few little treasures I found today:




How much? Less than $13.00!

What do you think? Some sanding, spray paint and a little love... they'll be all prettified again!

I haven't nailed down exactly what to do with them yet. Any suggestions?

Here I am!

Were you looking for me?

I've been looking for myself, I think.

This is probably the longest blogging break I've ever taken.

The last 6 months have been one whirlwind after another:

~New house
~Moving
~New school
~Working more
~Being a mom
~A bunch of other stuffs I won't bother you about...

And quite frankly, I think I lost the passion for blogging for a little bit. I didn' t even check in on other blogs, so I'm a bit behind.

Now that things have settled down a bit, I think I'm ready to jump back in.

I've been working on some stuff I can't wait to share with you!

Here's a little sneak peek:



See you soon!~

Happy Mother's Day!

(I've used this before, but I thought it was worth repeating... Have a lovely Mother's Day!)

To all the wonderful, inspiring, selfless, and loving women I know:

". . .Dear women, I say thanks to you. Thank you for being the kind of people you are and doing the things you do. May the blessings of heaven rest upon you. May your prayers be answered and your hopes and dreams become realities. . .May you live with love one for another. May you reach down to lift up those whose burdens are heavy. May you bring light and beauty to the world and particularly into your homes and into the lives of your children. . . You may never know how much good you accomplish. Someone's life will be blessed by your effort. . . "
~President Gordon B. Hinckley

Finally! (PLUS my newest and biggest project!!!)

Heavens to Betsy!!!

367.

Yep.

That's how many posts I have to catch up on in Google reader.

Obviously, I haven't been on the computer in a while.

Why you ask?

Here's why:


Yessiree! That's our new home! It's been a long time comin' but we finally signed the closing documents on Friday. I'm hoping to get the keys this week so we can start painting and patching and makin' it ours!

I'll be taking a ton of pictures of the process, so hopefully I have some fun stuff to share with you all!

Until later~

♥I feel so special!♥ (My first blogging award!)

I am so excited to have been given this blog award from Amy at Country Radio Mom! Thank you so much Amy!

Now, as most of you know, this award comes with a few rules. Here they are:

*Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.

*Tell us seven things about yourself.

*Award fifteen recently discovered new bloggers.

*Contact these bloggers and let them know they've received their award.


Okay, here are 7 things about me:

1. I am the loving mommy of 3 beautiful kids.
2. I am a cosmetologist who is obsessed with nail polish and eye shadow colors :)
3. I have been bungee jumping and would do it again!
4. I love working with my hands. If I can find a way to make it myself, I usually do.
5. I'm pretty girlie... as much as I hate to admit it.
6. I am 1/2 Filipino.
7. My husband and I were engaged after 3 weeks of dating and married 3 months after that.
(It will be 8 years on the 26th...♥)


Now, on to the awarding! These folks might not be new to you, but they are all blogs that I enjoy reading, so therefore, I am awarding them!

Bless-id
The Home Front
The Flower Taylor
Junque 'n My Trunk
Magpies and Magnolias
Northern Nesting
Southern Charm
Butterflies & Seashells
Thrifty Like Me
Junker Newbie
Bumble Bliss
Piorra Maison
The French Hutch
The Crows Nest
The Coconut Life

Win some MAC!

I have a small obsession with make-up. Yep. It's true. I have hundreds (yes, hundreds) of different color eyeshadows and still don't feel like I have enough. So, when I saw that Jen over at Classy Cosmetics was going to give away a free 6 color MAC palette, I thought, "Uh, yes please!!!"

Do you wanna win some free MAC make-up and other cool stuff? Head over to Classy Cosmetics and enter to win (here)! This girl is super fun and cute and has tons of tutorials on make-up application. Loooooove iiiiiit! And don't forget to tell her I referred you!

Loves~

Thank you!

It's always fun to get featured!

Thank you Gail @ My {Re}Purposed Life!

Talk about timing...!

Habitat for Humanities ReStore. I've heard about it a lot but had never been to one. I was excited to find out that there is one here in Mesa and decided to check it out with the Hubs.

So, we made the trek across town, (we live on the opposite end of Mesa, about 20+ miles) for a stroll through. I was expecting some spectacular store filled with lots of goodies. I was looking for a pretty chandy and maybe an old paneled window. When we got there, it seemed pretty much your typical scrap and find store, but I was hopeful.

After perusing around for a while, I became pretty disappointed... I wasn't really seeing anything that caught my eye. *insert sad face here* So, off to the exit we went. Right before reaching the doors, I looked over and saw this sitting in a cart in front of the register:
I looked her over. She was missing all her crystals, but still a beauty all the same.

So, I ask the GAR (Guy At the Register):

Me: Does this cart belong to anyone?

GAR: No, they just brought that stuff in about a minute ago.

Me: Can I purchase this chandelier, or do you test them first?

GAR: No, you can purchase it now.

Me: About how much?

GAR: 10 bucks. Do you want it?

Me: *little girly giggles* Uh, yes please!!!!

On the drive home though, I came to a horrifying realization. I'm becoming my mother!!! She has always loved crystal chandeliers and has owned SEVERAL in the past. In fact she has one this same style with 10 arms hanging in her dining room, just dripping in crystals. Then it hit me: My mother has saved all the crystals from chandeliers past. Whooooo! I found these shoved in the bottom of her china cabinet, shoved in the very back:
♫♪♫♪♫♪ ***Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!***♫♪♫♪♫♪

So there you have it. Talk about being at the right place at the right time!!! I have been looking for a pretty chandelier that didn't cost a fortune for about 2 years now.

I'm thrilled! 10 bucks!!! You can't beat that! Now I just have to paint it. I was thinking black or white. (I'm pretty simple.)

What color do you guys think?

CSN Review

With all the business of everyday life, I finally got around to getting my product from CSN stores. After going around and around in my head on what to review, I opted to get this fabulously useful jigsaw:
I was super excited to get this bad boy! The shipping was very reasonable and it came in half the time that was promised...gotta love that!

I love it! I know...who woulda thunk that I'd ever be excited about power tools? I'm sure it makes my daddy proud! :)

I've already used it once and it is awesome! I can't wait to share all the fun projects I have in store using this cool baby!

If you're looking for something specific and want it at a very comparable price, check out CSN stores! The have just about anything you are looking for!

Thanks CSN!

Sunday Reflections

To all the wonderful, inspiring, selfless, and loving women I know:

". . .Dear women, I say thanks to you. Thank you for being the kind of people you are and doing the things you do. May the blessings of heaven rest upon you. May your prayers be answered and your hopes and dreams become realities. . .May you live with love one for another. May you reach down to lift up those whose burdens are heavy. May you bring light and beauty to the world and particularly into your homes and into the lives of your children. . . You may never know how much good you accomplish. Someone's life will be blessed by your effort. . . "
~President Gordon B. Hinckley

Thank you C.R.A.F.T. !!! (Surprise Jamie! :)

Early last week, I was pleasantly surprised and shocked to find out that I had WON a Silhouette from Jamie over at C.R.A.F.T. ! I could hardly believe it! Do you know how long I've been trying to win one of theses?
When I started my blog last July, I think I entered every contest I could find, and put in every entry I could to try and and win one. After many, MANY disappointments, I decided to purchase one when they were having a sale over New Year's. I received it early January.

I have been following C.R.A.F.T. since I first started my blog. Late last month when I read about the contest being held there, I chuckled to myself and thought I'd enter the contest on a lark. After all, I never won before, why would this time be any different? So, I entered away...

You can imagine how shocked I was to read these comments on my blog:


WHAT??? How the heck did that happen? What am I gonna do with TWO of these? I've never won ANYTHING before!

Now, before you all get mad at me for having 2 Silhouettes and stealing away the chance for someone else to win one, let me explain myself.

I have one of the most talented, amazing, best friends in the whole world. She is in many ways a million times more crafty than I am. Immediately after finding out that I had won this Silhouette, I remembered that my bestest friend, Jamie, really wanted one and for some reason or another, has been unable to get one. She's been having an up and down year and I couldn't think of anyone more deserving. What made things even better, was that her birthday was this month! What a great birthday present surprise!!!

For a week and a half I had to endure not being able to tell my best friend the greatest secret surprise of all time, and at the risk of looking ungrateful and not posting about it on my blog (she reads it regularly), I held my tongue. Until last night.

Knock at the door... Silhouette!

I immediately called Jamie:

Me: "I have a surprise for you! It's an early birthday present!"

Jamie: "Ooookaaaay."

Me: "But if you want it you have to come and get it."

Jamie: "I'm not dressed to go anywhere."

Me: "Well, I can't wait until your birthday to give it you."

Jamie: " Oookay. I'll be over in a little bit."

I quickly wrapped the Silhouette, (all I had was Christmas wrapping paper) and when she came over I thrust the package at her.

"Rip it open!!!!, (giggle, giggle)"

"Are you serious!?!?"

Oh, happy day! I think I was more excited for her to get her Silhouette
than I was to get mine! :)

Happy birthday Jamie! (And don't hate me for posting pictures... :)

And many thanks to C.R.A.F.T. and the generous people at Silhouette for bringing so much joy to a couple crafty gals!

Stash... I'm gonna BUST. YOU. UP.

Ahhh...Spring! Birds are singing, flowers are blooming! This is the time of year we look at our closets, garages and all those little nooks and crannies of our homes and think... "Holy CRAP!~ How did I hoard some much stuffs???"

Which is why I'm super excited to be participating in the Spring Stashbusting with Robin at
The T-Shirt Diaries. I (kinda) participated last time. I mean, I didn't buy any new supplies during the designated time, but I didn't do as many projects as I would have liked.


This time around we have been urged to take a "before" picture of our stash, and I was grossly reminded of how much stuff I have accrued and how much stash I really need to bust:
The shame!

The insanity!

The horror!
And these are just a couple of the places I've been hoarding stuff...

My convictions have been renewed!

Heaven help me... and wish me luck!!!

Sunday Reflections (It's been too long....)

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven."
~Matthew 5:14–16

Here and There Hiatus

Okay~ So I know I haven't been posting as often as I would like, but the gaps may become even longer in the next few months.

Last Tuesday we put an offer on a house and it was excepted the very next day! It has been a long time coming and we are VERY excited!

That being said, I will be extremely busy for the next few months closing on the house, getting packed, and getting my family into a new house. SO, I will not be able to post very often.

I'll be back as often as I can, and thank you all for reading and your support!

Luvs~

Happy {HEART} Day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day, my friends~!

May your day be filled with wonderment, awe, and mucho love from those close to you!

Here is a little sneak peek for what Valentine's adventures I have planned for the Hubs and I:

It started with this idea from Martha...
...and has since spiraled into something much bigger.

I decided to go a little more traditional with tan colored cookies, and used my handy Sillhouette to fashion this cute take out box:

I then filled the box and cookies with some fun fortunes:
(Some fortunes are meant for select eyes only, and therefore will not be posted... ;)

I will post more of the fun stuffs tomorrow.

Have a heart-filled happy day!

Smooches!~