Tuesday, March 12, 2019

There has been a lot of fanfare about this hair tool on the blogs I read. It’s a dryer and volumizer. I have been wanting to wear my hair straight sometimes so I decided to order it. I found it really easy to use. I was asked if I had just been to the salon! What do you think?  Do you own one?  Do you like my hair straight or curled better?  

Let me know if you decide to get one!  

Amy 

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Last Sunday I got to attend a woodworking/decor workshop at a place called Board and Brush in Louisville.  Your town may have one, too.  I think it’s the newest incarnation of the painting and wine places that became really popular several years ago.  

My good friend B invited me and it was a really fun way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.  They offer evenings, as well.  

They have a bar!  We thought these were coasters, but they are drink covers that say “Sand your board, not your drink”.  We figured that out a bit late!  

You have to pick your project ahead of time so they can cut your wood and cut out your stencil.  Here are our final products!  Mine is a monogram sign or board – charcuterie?  B’s is a table runner.  

We had to start with a hammer to distress our wood.  They provided earplugs, thankfully!  It was a good way to get some aggressions out.  

Then, we got to pick our stain.  After sanding our distressed wood, we stained it with two coats.  

Finally, we had to paint our stencils.  

Mine is not perfect and I’m one of the least “crafty” people out there, but it was so much fun!  

Have you ever done this?  I’m thinking this could be a great birthday, Mother’s Day, or other gift to give.  

Thanks for reading!

Amy 

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

I ordered a tripod!  But, until the weather changes, I may take a break from outfit photos and just do flat lays.  Winter is back!  Darn groundhog!  

This outfit was from last Friday.  I was comfortable, but it’s nothing to write home about.  May I tell you that everything except the shoes and earrings are consignment finds?  

And, this is from Thursday, but you already saw it in my SteinMart post here.  

On the few sunny days, I’ve been wearing my Knockaround sunglasses.  I love sunglasses and always wear them, even when it’s overcast.  My eyes are very sensitive.  I don’t want to spend a ton, but I want fairly decent quality sunglasses.  I’m very happy with these.  

I like to decorate for St. Patrick’s Day and celebrate it if I can.  Here is my new yard sign.  I also have some indoor decor on the mantel and hall table.  

Here is my tiered tray.  I could make this look better, but this is what it is for now.  

I think it’s fun to pick up some seasonal supplies.  Extra points if you can pick these up on clearance and save until the next year!  

For dinner last year, I did Skittles and Rolos and green mashed potatoes, pretzel rolls with green butter (just put a bit of food color in my butter), sausage, onions, and brussels sprouts.  

I also like to wear some green during the month of March – outfit ideas coming soon!  

Thanks for reading! 

Amy

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

O.k., I should have posted this last week, but for those of you who are often winging dinner like me – maybe this will help!  

I like to have themed dinners and celebrate the small holidays.  I have never been to actual Mardi Gras, but my husband loves Cajun food (RIP our favorite Joe’s OK Bayou that went out of business)  and it can be easy for a quick week night meal.  

Zatarain’s and Tony Cachere’s make these rice mixes and you can add chicken or sausage to them.  We also use Cajun spice on everything.  We love it on our green vegetables, especially.  

So, Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday and our Tuesdays are really busy.  In fact, this Tuesday, one son won’t be home until 8:30. I will probably pack his dinner.  

I’m doing jambalaya and turkey sausage, rolls, and a green vegetable.  

For dessert, I’m faking a king cake with cinnamon rolls and dying the icing yellow, green, and purple.  There will be no baby inside.  

What do you think?  Would your family eat this meal?  

Amy

Monday, March 4, 2019

Hello!  Going into the weekend, I only knew that my boys had social plans and I only had one plan for Sunday.  I managed to squeeze in some fun for me and some good quality time with my husband.  I also managed to dust, vacuum, meal prep, do laundry, and read.  So, it was basically my perfect weekend!  How about you?  

Friday my friend texted about checking out a new boutique that was having an open house in the cute little neighborhood of Norton Commons.  It is actually two boutiques called Spark and Blu that are sharing a space.  They had wine and snacks and special discounts.  I forgot to take pictures.  My friend H found a few things, but I just enjoyed looking.  See, I can do it!  

Our husbands met us at Citizen 7 which is a Mexican restaurant.  It was too short, but it was nice to catch up with them.  Margarita and fish tacos for me.  I preferred the grilled fish over the fried fish.  

I had dropped off theater son at a different Mexican restaurant to eat with his Annie castmates so husband left dinner and picked him up and I followed shortly after.  

Saturday morning, my husband and boys went to an arcade game expo.  I put on the fanny pack and cleaned with some podcasts.  Do you have a fanny pack?  It is really great for holding your phone and other things.  Do I wear it in public?  Not really!  

They came home, we watched basketball game and other t.v. and lounged and then our other son had plans for a movie.  We dropped him off and then my husband picked a new to us restaurant and we really liked it.  

I tried the Spicy Pineapple drink.  It was good!  

We ordered cheese curds, split a burger with brie and fried onions, and a salad with an amazing champagne vinagrette.  Splitting is the way to go, we think!  

We had some more time to kill, so we went to my husband’s favorite outdoor clothing store and just clothing store in general, Quest.  It is locally owned so that is great!  He found a couple of things and was a happy boy.  

Our son’s movie was at the mall and we killed a bit more time walking around – wow, we felt old and out of it at this mall.  

Sunday morning we had some light snow.  

I made a fancy coffee!  

I did some meal prep!  

Theater son had a Shakespeare monologue competition so I took him and my husband picked him up.  Unfortunately I had a prior engagement and couldn’t watch him perform.  He was probably o.k. with that!  

My sweet friend B had invited me to go to a sign painting place.  This is what I chose  below, but in our initials.  I will let you know how it turns out.  I’m not very crafty.  

How was your weekend?  What’s on the agenda for this week?  We have a busy one as usual.  We have 4 five day weeks until spring break.  It will go by fast, I’m sure.  I have an easy Mardi Gras meal idea for you tomorrow!  

Thanks for reading!

Amy 

Friday, March 1, 2019

Happy Friday and Happy March!  

This will be short and sweet today!

I love my new tiered tray.  Mine is not cute like others, but more functional right now. I have coffee and some St. Patrick’s Day plates and napkins.  It is a nice space saver for the kitchen table.  

I added an outdoor St. Patrick’s Day flag.  I will be showing my decor next week!  I do minimal decor for January, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and Derby!  That makes it so that I change my living room decor once a month.  It mainly involves my mantel and hall table but it makes me happy!  

I ordered some reasonably priced tortoiseshell sunglasses from a new to me company called Knockaround.  These were under $25 and I really like them! Go here to check them out.  

Remember the Target cleaner that smells like the Capri Volcano cleaner?  Well, it looks like there is a whole line by Smartly that is very reasonably priced.  I picked up a 1.99 body wash and a .99 handsoap.  

I bought both in this rainshower scent.  

How was your week?
Any fun weekend plans?  

We are busy!  My boys are getting active social lives and it’s fun to see!  We may have some snow coming in, but we will see!

Happy, happy weekending!

Amy 

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Hello last day of February!  It’s hard to believe that tomorrow it will be March.  We have some snow expected this weekend so maybe it will “come in like a lion and go out like a lamb” this year.  

I am considering starting a new series on Thursdays in conjunction with my “Thursday Thoughts” where I give my thoughts on different stores.  So, let’s try this out today!

I am still very much an in person shopper.  I do order online, but I prefer to order from retailers that I have in town and can easily make returns to.  

Do you have a Stein Mart?  If so, do you shop there?  It may seem to have a bit of an older person vibe, but I think it’s worth checking out.  

Stein Mart is similar in theory to TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, and Ross.  I find Steinmart to be way easier to shop than those three stores.  Stein Mart is very well organized.  It’s much easier to find things.  They have men’s and women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories.  I would say they have department store brands and quality, but at a lower price, so very similar to the idea of the other three stores.  Their prices may not be as low as TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, and Ross, though, but I think they may have some higher end brands.  I prefer Stein Mart to the other three because of organization, mainly. My closest TJ’s is pretty small.  I don’t have a Marshall’s very close, and Ross is messy and only half full?  It’s weird. 

I took myself to Stein Mart recently and picked up this pretty spring top for $25.  The material feels like butter and it has cute button and a cute seam in the back.  

And, I already wore it!  

One of my favorite tops came from Stein Mart.  Back in the fall, I found this and when I got to the register and it was an additional amount off so it only cost $20.  I can’t wait to be able to wear this soon!  It has a fall vibe, but I also think I can wear it in the spring.  It’s kind of like a poncho blouse.  

In the summer, I visited the petite section for pants in the correct length:  these were around $25.  I can’t wait to wear these soon!  

I feel like their clothes are unique and you won’t see them on everyone, too.  

So, if you have a Stein Mart, let me know what you think! Have you bought any new spring clothing?  

Side note:  I usually add to my next season’s wardrobe slowly and that’s why I look around a lot starting at about this time of year.  It’s kind of a hobby for me, too.  I like to window shop! I come out empty handed more often than not.  I tracked clothing expenditures for several years and had a monthly allowance that I gave myself.  Each year my biggest spending months were March and September.  That didn’t surprise me as I always wanted a little update.  

Check out my post on spring inventory here!

Thanks for reading!

Amy 

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

I want to apologize in advance – I don’t have great outfit pictures this week.  But, hey, do I ever?  I have been super busy and worried that I’m bugging my colleagues to take my photo!  Maybe I should get a tripod?  

Let’s start with last Thursday – Black Matilda Jane pants, Versona camo tee, and a sweater.  I think I wore my Rothy’s flats every day.  You guessed it, the sweater came off at school.  

My Matilda Jane pants continue to be such work horses for my closet.  I know they don’t fit everyone’s style, but I have already gotten my money’s worth.  I get tons of compliments on them.  They are super comfortable and unique.  I got two at consignment for $20 and bought two new for $58 each. They are comfortable and nice quality.  

Friday I wore Hue jeggings, my Bobeau burgundy butter tee, and this velvet Kimono – and, my Rothy’s, too!  

I went out to dinner Saturday night and it was raining so my footwear was limited, which led to tough clothing decisions.  I really am lacking cute going out blouses in my wardrobe .  I am trying to show more weekend wear.  I wore black pants, my black Tory Burch flats because of the rain – I always wear black in the rain!  I wore a mustard Old Navy boho shirt and a black vest.  Sorry for the cheesy photo.  I sent it to our other friend who couldn’t come.  

For the drag brunch Sunday, I wore my black Matilda Jane fin pants (these are more basic pants, but with some cute layers at the bottom), Rothy’s, my favorite 3/4 length tee, and black vest again.  I was very comfortable but again, I felt that I didn’t have a very good selection of February going out clothes!  

Monday at school I wore Target camo leggings, long tunic top from Amazon, and the black vest again.  And, look at my shoes.  I’ve been spoiled by the Rothy’s and can’t bear to wear the other less comfortable shoes anymore!  The lighting is weird and I look like I’m floating on them!  On this day, I got the sweetest compliment from a teenager at school that I don’t know.  She told me that she loved this outfit and that I always look great.  Wow, I needed that.  I have not felt like I looked great lately in my chosen outfits.  What a sweetie!  

And, finally on Tuesday, I wore a different vest – charcoal grey, the same 3/4 sleeve top from Sunday, my brown MJ pants, Rothy’s and a light scarf.  Now is the time of year when I break out my lightweight scarves.  

So, maybe I should dedicate this week to Matilda Jane, Rothy’s, and vests!  

What was your favorite outfit?  

Amy 

Tuesday, Februrary 26, 2019

Today I’m going to talk about something pretty personal that doesn’t get talked about often on the blogs I read.  

Today I’m going to talk about that nasty five letter word in all of our lives – MONEY.  But, I hope to relate it to the thing that we are all really after and that is TIME.  Have you ever thought about how the two go hand in hand and can really affect your quality of life?  

Have you ever done a spending diary?  You most likely have.  It’s eye opening.  

Have you ever taken a time inventory?  Maybe not.  How much time do you spend during the day on things that really don’t match your values?  How much time gets wasted?  I’m almost scared to do this exercise!  

Sometimes I think that my blog may give a false impression.  I’m actually a pretty frugal person.  Now, I don’t think I’m cheap.  And, there is a distinction.  Frugal to me means that I save money where I can to put my money where my values lie.  Cheap to me means that I skimp on things that I shouldn’t.  That’s how I interpret it.  

I value gifts to the ones I love.  I value experiences.  I value travel.  I value education and educational activities for my kids.  I value quality products. I value well made home furnishings that will last.  I value quality healthy foods.  I could go on and on.  

Here are things I don’t spend money on:  (Please know that I don’t judge you if you do.  We all have different lifestyles and all must make our own choices on how we spend our time and money.  The interesting thing here is that sometimes when you save money, you also save time! I also understand I’m very lucky to have the choice to be frugal when many do not.  There are so many people barely scraping by.)

-I do not go to the dry cleaners.  My husband and boys might go once a year for their dress clothes. I don’t have anything that requires dry cleaning.  This saves me money and an errand.  

-I don’t buy books for myself.  I only use the public library.  I don’t make a special trip, but rather just do a pick up or drop off when I am driving by anyway.  I don’t have to find space on my shelves for books that I won’t read again.  I do have cookbooks and a few special books.  

-I do not go to a nail salon for manicures anymore.  I sometimes buy a new polish, but I do my nails myself.  I don’t have time for an hour plus appointment at this stage in my life during the school year and it gives me something to do while I watch t.v.

-I wash all of our clothes on cold and I line dry most of my nicer clothes.  I rarely iron, but rather just use Downy Wrinkle release and hang them.  I also take things out of the dryer immediately if I can and hang it.  Who wants to spend time ironing?  

-Recently I gave up my Bath and Body habit.  I was spending way too much for candles I didn’t need when I already had several and the soaps are really expensive even when you do their deals.  These are my Kroger’s spring scents.  I bought 4 for the price of one B and B soap.  

-I meal plan and use up the food we have.  I use coupons and the rewards checks that come in the mail.  I use online shopping to stick to my list and avoid temptations.  

-I sell my clothes to consignment shops and shop consignment shops.  There is so much good stuff to be found.

-I visit garage sales when I can.  Again, there is some good stuff to be found.  

-I bring my lunch to school every day. I don’t have time to go out and get anything anyway.  That’s why I can treat myself to a happy hour a couple of times a month.  And, I can go out to eat with friends a couple of times a month.  

-I make my own coffee at school and rarely buy coffee at a coffee shop.  It feels more like a treat when I do buy it.  You can make your coffee more fancy at home by adding flavored creamers, whipped cream, or a bit of hot cocoa mix.  

-I keep each cell phone until it dies.  I really don’t care about the latest and greatest.  

Are you a frugal person?  Is frugality important to you?  

Thanks for reading! 

Amy