WAHOO!!!!!

I have an epic thrifty find for you today. I LOVE bargains, the less I pay for something, the more excited I get. I almost never buy clothes full price, which is why I love thrift stores and bargain stores. Today's post brings me to a local store called DownEast Outfitters. It's a great little store, it sells it's own line of clothes and also buys slightly damaged clothes from American Eagle, J.Crew and other stores to resell for a discount. I often see items there that I would love to refashion. That was the case today, when I was at the DownEast in the Idaho Falls mall a few weeks ago I saw a great little bag that I wanted to remake but I only got a quick glance and a crappy picture with my camera phone. I finally found the fabric that would work, so I went to the local store today to get a closer look at the bag. While I was there, I browsed through the clearance rack and hit the jackpot!!

I found this gorgeous J.Crew dress for TEN DOLLARS!!!!!!  No joke! I didn't believe it when I saw the price tag. The tag said that the dress was originally $600 but the website said the dress goes for $475. But still...either way that's like 98% off!! The sash is a little dirty and there are two small snags, really, it's not noticeable at all. Buying slightly damaged is the way to save money! And it's so gorgeous, it's 100% silk, ivory, flowy, and has a train! It's called the "goddess gown" and that's def how I felt in it. :) I love it, I've been twirling around in it all day! I don't care that it's a little big in the top and I need to take it in, and I don't care that I have no where to wear a gorgeous evening gown. I have a beautiful new dress that only cost me 10 bucks! I'm super, super psyched. I will def be looking around for more slightly damaged clothes in the future!

In other news, David just found his first gray hair. Literally, as I was writing this post he came to me and showed me. Can you believe it? 25 years old and already has gray hairs. Maybe it's because I buy expensive dresses...oh wait. It was only 10 dollars. :D

See it? It's from his sideburn so it's extra short, but it's still there!!

I told him to make his "I just found my first gray hair face" and this is what he gave me. That crazy kid, most people wouldn't be this excited.

Update: Lol, I just found out that the dress is a wedding dress. Too bad I already got married! 

Julie and Julia

I really, really like the movie Julie and Julia. I find it to be very inspiring to have a goal like that! (To those of you who aren't familiar with the movie/book, it's about a woman who cooks her way through Julia Child's 524 recipe cookbook in a year.) It makes me want to have a goal like that! Something to keep me on my toes, something to occupy my time and energy, and something to work towards. I really would like to do something like that, but my life is so uncertain right now. I'm moving 2,200 miles across the country in the next couple of months, hopefully (note the keyword is "hopefully") starting my teaching career, and the hubs with his internship is so uncertain I just don't want to take on a project so large. Yeah, I know...excuses, excuses. We'll see. Maybe I'll take on some kind of challenge.

Either way, I recommend the movie. It's cute.

Salem Saberhagen

Did anyone ever watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch when they were younger? I LOVE that show!! I watch it every day! It's my favorite, and the funny thing is I didn't watch it much when I was younger, I really started to get into it in college, after the series was over. Funny how things work. Basically the only reason I watch it is because of Salem Saberhagen. HE IS SO FUNNY!!! Like, beyond hilarious. I love him. I keep a log of my favorite Salem quotes so I can read it later and laugh. He makes me happy.

And there is a glimpse into my life. Isn't he so cute!?!?! He's even cuter dressed up!

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

Newest Addition to the Sewing Family!

My new sewing table! You will laugh at what I've been doing without one. I've had my sewing machine set on the coffee table in the living room since I got it, and I kneel at the table to sew. Now, how does that work with the foot pedal? Um, yeah, I've been pushing it down with my hand. So actually, I've been sewing one-handed since I got the thing! David laughs whenever he sees me sewing like that. So, we decided to utilize my 50% off coupon from Joanns to get me a sewing table!


This is what it will look like when it's done (it conveniently folds up into the image on the left, SO handy for our little apartment) but for right now it looks like this...

Whadda guy. :) Where did I ever find him?? Notice the explosion of a thousand pieces and all of the equipment. Wow.

I'm so excited. :D I recently finished two scripture cases that I designed myself! I used elements of what I have learned from other bloggers, patterns, and scripture cases that I've owned to make this!

Ta daaaaaaa!!! It even fits the manual. Huzzah! After completing them (I also made one in navy) there are some things I would have changed, but I like it. I feel happy knowing that it's my own work. And I hope their new owners will like them too. :)


Hope you are having a fantastic weekend! Mine has been ok, I got pulled over for the first time in my life today. :( Not a good experience, but it had to come eventually I guess.

Huzzah!

I got a camera!!! I was going to use money I got from my birthday today to go and buy one, but my wonderful hubby way way ahead of me! This morning after my favorite breakfast, he lead me on a scavenger hunt to find different camera accessories, and then finally to my brand new (pink!) camera!

He (and his mom, and dad, and grandma) all pitched in to get me this! I even got a pink leather case. :) He is so great! Now I can take pictures of all of my projects! But not today, I've still got a fun birthday ahead of me. :)

You know what I love?

Giveaways. Some companies (or seriously generous people!) give away some of the coolest things in the name of advertising (or really, they are just generous and a much better person than I am!) I found this site a few weeks ago, and the entire site is dedicated to giveaways!! How amazing is that? They have several new things every day, and they just give them away! I won't lie, I'm on it pretty much every day submitting all my qualifying entries. :) I mean, who wouldn't love the opportunity to win free stuff?

Wow, now I sound like an advertiser. I promise I'm not, I just want to share so other people can have a chance to win things! (Oh...yeah. The button is in my sidebar. Click it and it will take you to the site.)

More things I love:
Ward BBQs and awesome Easter packages from home. :)

Makeover!

For some reason I've wanted to make over everything lately. My living room, my kitchen, my wardrobe, my hair, my face...pretty much anything that can be changed I want to change it. But since most of those will be a significant investment, I settled for a new background on my blog. :)

Wahoo!!!!

I got a sewing machine! A real, brand new one!!! A Singer!!! Yaiiiii!!!!! I've been wanting one so badly, my tiny one just wasn't cutting it at all, and David did the math and with all my "extra" working we figured we had a little extra money to spend, and the sweetest husband ever decided to let me spend it on a sewing machine!!! :D I'm so excited! I can now do so many projects that I've been wanting to do. I'm so excited! I have to go now, I have a lot of playing around to do with my new sewing machine! :D :D :D :D

An honor

This week, we went to a friend's surprise birthday party. It was a blast. This friend (Matt) also happens to be David's 2nd cousin, and the older brother of David's best friend (Robert). Robert goes to school at BYU (blech) and is coming up next weekend to visit his brother and sister in law (Ashley), his sister (Tamara), and of course, his best friend. Tamara casually mentions that while Robert is here, we should have Hawaiian haystacks for dinner one of the nights he's here. I LOVE Hawaiian haystacks, so of course I had no objection to this proposal. Upon further discussion, I discover that the sister-in-law (Ashley) hates Hawaiian haystacks....except for the ones that I make. Tamara also pipes in that the haystacks I make are the best she's ever had. What an honor! :)

Fast forward to today. David and I are eating dinner, discussing our plans for the upcoming week. We talk about the haystacks and shopping and stuff, and then David reveals that Robert was the one that told Tamara to tell me to make haystacks because mine are the best. That little schemer!

And that is my cool story for the week. I really do feel honored that four people (yes, my darling husband is one of them) think that I make the best haystacks. :) I really wish I had a recipe for them now....

A few exciting things

Last week I was able to substitute almost an entire week, which brings my grand total this month to almost three solid weeks of substituting. I feel so blessed that I was able to sub so much, any money I make is an added benefit to our budget, and it makes me feel so much more secure if anything were to happen during the semester (like my unexpected "minor surgery" last week....*shudders*). It won't be a huge paycheck, but bigger than any paycheck I've had for a while. :)

Other exciting news, at DI I found an itsy bitsy sewing machine!! It goes really well with my new "crafting" hobby. It's tiny (it's meant for scrabooking actually) but I made a little fabric block with it so it's working pretty well for me so far. Besides, it would be silly of me to buy a real sewing machine if my little "hobby" fizzles out soon. I like it, it works well for small projects and I think it's just what I need right now to help build some skills and give me something to do during the day.

I made sweet potato enchiladas. They were absolutely delicious. I love sweet potatoes, I love enchiladas, and even though the thought of the two together was a little bit weird, I loved them. Thanks Lydia, for posting about it. :)

And finally, my very talented former roommate, Brielle, whose homemade cards are nothing but gorgeous, is giving a few away. Lucky us! Check her out at www.iholdallthecards.blogspot.com for the giveaway and pictures of her cards. Trust me, you'll be in love.

My New Obsession

I've discovered my new "stay at home wife" hobby! Crafting. Oh my goodness, I'm addicted. I've browsed so many crafting blogs and I have a 50 page document of things I want to try. The motive behind it is trying to make my home more "homey." David and I have been in school and working constantly since we got married, and our home could really use some TLC. I've been scouring the DI and buying scrapbook paper and ribbon and Mod Podge and I've been going to town! My most recent project is a refurbished mail holder, the kind that hangs on the wall. Our entire marriage we've put all the mail on the deep freezer we have, and it's always bugged is. I feel so accomplished that I made something old and disgusting into something that looks cute and complements our living room. :) Alas, I don't have any pictures, I haven't been able to find it since Christmas.

Does anyone else out there like to craft? Got any good ideas?

Big Kahuna

I let David make dinner yesterday. He told me he was going to make chicken enchiladas, so I thought that it was a safe decision. Later, when he calls me into dinner, and he'd only made four. Why? Because he'd use massive 12" tortillas and that's all that would fit in the pan!! He dubbed them, "The Big Kahuna Enchiladas." Men. I took a picture...but unfortunately I forgot to put the memory card into the camera so the pictures are stuck in my camera and I have no idea how to get them out.

In other news, I started my new (well, old) job! In April I worked on campus in the housing department cleaning and doing service requests for on campus housing (mainly the dorms). David continued working there during the semester, and I managed to nab the job again, so we're working together!! :) It's pretty tedious work, not very much fun, but honestly it's a full time job. I've been dying for one of those for months! I'm not really used to working for 8 hours a day though...I've been sitting on my butt for the past few months and now that I have to be standing and do physical labor for 8 hours, my body is rejecting it. I'm utterly exhausted by the time I come home! And a little looy. I think it's kind of funny, I imagine that's how I would act if I were to ever get drunk.

Couponing

So, I'm trying to start couponing. You know, using the Sunday paper to clip coupons and then stack them up and end up getting semi expensive things for only a few cents? It's a lot harder than I thought it would be!! It's an art, not just something you can pick up. I am discovering this. I've been signing up for different coupon websites and getting the Sunday paper and weekly ciculars, but I'm no where near the few cents thing. I'm having fun with it though, it gives me something to do since I don't have a job plus it helps save us money. So all in all, a win-win situation.

Anyone else coupon? Got any tips for me? :)

Less than a week!!!!

Oh my goodness. We've reached the "less than a week" phase. It's starting to hit me. Honestly, I can't really believe it. ME? Getting MARRIED?? That's like...something old people do! Not me! But ahhhh I'm excited. :) I'm just having trouble grasping it!! Married...wow. This week sure is a busy one. Today I got my hair cut and I've been running around to the reception site, dropping off things to awfully genereous friends who are helping out and getting my hair cut. Tomorrow I have my bridal shower and some shopping for a dress for the luncheon, Wed is my bachelorette party, Thursday I go through the temple, and then Friday I'm MARRIED! Huzzah!!! I wonder if it's this weird for everyone. I'm guessing part of it might be the fact that it was just finals week and I'm still in school mode. That's a hard mode to switch from. Good thing I still have FOUR MORE DAYS. :D

DECEMBER!!!

HOLY COW ITS DECEMBER!! :D :D :D :D That just happens to be the month I'm getting married!! Huzzah!!!! 18 more days!!!!!



...ok. Excitement over. Now comes two weeks worth of projects, papers, and finals. :( I don't like the association of Christmas and finals. It completely ruins the whole spirit of Christmas if you ask me. The thought process is this: "Hooray Christmas is coming!! Oh...wait....that means finals are coming. Boo. I hate December." Now how Christmasy is that?? Not. If I have my own university, I'll start school just a tad earlier but then let everyone off at Thanksgiving. Wouldn't that be better? I see no point in coming back for two weeks. 99% of us are already gone (in the sense that we have zero desire to accomplish anything). Yes. I think I will write to my congressman.

But until I change the world, I have projects to do...sigh.

Tuesdays

In my opinion, Tuesday is the best day of the week! Strange huh? Most folk's favorite day of the week is someday during the weekend. Sleep in, absence of school, probably don't have to go to work, parties, movies and whatnot. But alas my friends, I do not share the same feelings. Know why??? Probably not, why would I be writing a blog if the whole world knew the inner workings of my soul? That would be a little redundant.



I have two words for you...Taco Tuesday. THIS is why I love Tuesdays so much! You see, back in the days (freshman year of college), Taco Bell suddenly became a short walking distance from my dorm. The close proximity was a bad choice on my part, I love Taco Bell. I have very little willpower. Luckily my waistline didn't suffer too much (due to only ordering a single item off the menu per visit), but my wallet sure did! And, lets face it. Eating that much Taco Bell is simply revolting.



At the beginning of last year, I met this super cute boy (who will be my husband in a month :D) and he and I came up with the most brilliant plan...Taco Tuesdays. I'm not sure when exactly it started, all I know is that it has evolved into the greatest day of the entire week. I'm able to get my Taco Bell fix (and have a mentor to keep me in check) and he and I sit in Taco Bell for hours (literally...sometimes up to six hours) discussion and describing the deepest corners of our souls. Maybe that's an exaggeration...but I think you get the picture. We make sure that all our homework is done for the day so we can devote as much time as possible to our bonding experience within the walls of this glorified fast food restaurant. It's so good to know that I have that time to spend with him every week, no matter what. Even if its only for the 15 minutes to scarf down the cheesy, Americanized, Mexican goodness. Some of my fondest memories from our courting take place there. :)



Really...it's not the Taco Bell that makes Taco Tuesdays so wonderful, it's that time with him. The tacos are just an added bonus. :D Whoda thunk that my motives would flip flop? What a funny world we live in. :)

Ring!

I got David's wedding ring today. :D He doesn't know what it looks like, I figured since he can keep basically the entire honeymoon a surprise for me, I can keep his ring and my dress a surprise for him. I got really lucky, the ring went for over $600 and I got it for $170 because of David's employee discount at the jewlery store. :D Now, what to do with the money saved is another story! Oh the possibilities. I wanted to see how it looked on his finger, so I had him turn around and I slipped it on. Let me tell you, I know it's a guys ring but dang it looked beautiful on his finger. It was nice in the picture, even better in real life, but perfect on his finger! Glad the three months of digging for it was worth it. :)