The Best Thrifty Shopping Trip. Ever.

So this morning when I got up I was grumpy.  No particular reason why, I was just having one of those days.  So after we did our morning routine and I dropped Brennan off at school, I decided to stop by the thrift store.  Shopping therapy, of course. 

I am so glad I did!  I went with the intention of looking for world globes and old suitcases.  I didn't find either of those, but I did finds lots of cool stuff.  Even better, I had a 20% off coupon for all my loot.  Whoo Hoo!

So the first thing I found was this little bunny.

He made me happy, so I figured even if I didn't find anything else, at least he gave me the attitude adjustment I needed.

In this next aisle over, I found this tray. 

I love it!  It's one of those things I didn't know I was looking for and then the light bulb went off.  I plan on growing some herbs in my kitchen here shortly, and this will be perfect to hold all the little pots.

I think I heard singing when I found this guy.

I know, it's just a cheese dome.  But I have been looking for one of these (really cheap) forever.  There are all kinds of bloggy decorators out there that have found these things and made them really cute, and they all say, "look at your thrift store to find one, they always have them."  Well, at my thrift store, cheese domes are like mythical creatures....until today.  And at $1.99, I felt like I had just won the lottery.

Pretty blue and white plate.

I have been picking up unique plates here and there over the last few months, and this fits nicely with my budding collection.

A rainbow afghan.

How cute is this?!  It doesn't look like it has even been used.  No pilling or snags or stains at all.  It goes perfectly with the new colorful decorating I have been doing lately that I haven't blogged about yet. : )  What I love most about it, is that I just know that a grandma made it, and grandma blankets are the best.

So at this point, I was on a thrifter's high.  I could have left right then and been super happy.  But the area where I would find old globes and suitcases is in the back of the store, so I thought I better check, just in case.

As I already mentioned, I didn't find any globes or suitcases, but I did find this.

A little cutie patootie, Brennan-sized farmhouse chair!  LOVE it!  It's pretty dirty, and it has no finish on it whatsoever (less sanding for me!)  but I know it's going to turn out to be the cutest chair ever.

Really, at this point, can I reasonably ask any more from my thrifting trip?

Why, yes, yes I can!

Next I found these.

...for $3.99 each.  Score!  Look beyond the tarnished brass, and just look at the shape of these beauties!  Some spray paint and some new shades and they are going to look like a million bucks!

At this point I am done.  My little cart is full, and I'm guarding it like a crazy woman.  I just knew those other ladies were eye-balling my little chair and my mythic cheese dome. 

But in this case, as luck would have it, I have to walk through the clothes and accessories section to get to the checkouts.

So first I find these.

A Spring jacket, and a shirt with a guitar on it for Brennan.  Cute.

And then I find these.

Two cute purses.  But not just any old purses.  The one on the left is a Guess purse, which I am using as my everyday purse.

The other one....

Yeah baby, Prada!  Now I am not usually one to get too caught up caring about designer purses, but a super-cute leather Prada bag for $8.99...I think so!!  I can't wait to use it for date night next weekend.

...and just so you know,  I solemnly vow that the inside of my new Prada will never see a Matchbox car or a pack of crayons. : )

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Birthday.

It's been a rough couple of weeks around here.  As of this hour we are all well, thank goodness.  I have lots of new stuff to post, but I think for today, we'll just stick to Brennan's birthday pictures.


The Cake.


Pile o' Presents


Brennan's only request besides his birthday cake was a birthday hat.  OK, here ya go birthday boy.


So I added some glasses, too.


Birthday morning.  Just a little bit excited. : )


Opening Presents.


Reading cards.  According to Brennan, they all said "Appy Appy, Brennan Jameson Bal!"  Close enough.


The Aftermath.

I didn't get a picture, but for breakfast I made Brennan's favorite, blueberry pancakes and sausage.  After that it was time for some playing. 


Daddy putting together the track.


I'm glad we didn't have any big plans to go out, because it snowed all day.


But that was OK, Brennan loved his new trains.


Then they had to try out the new Pillow Pet.


Cool Shades.


All smiles.


Afternoon snack.

For supper we had another Brennan favorite, pizza.


And then it was time for the cake!

The evening consisted of movie watching, skyping with Nana and Papaw, and then with Grandma and Shanny.  It turned out to be a really great day.


Happy Birthday, Little Man. 

This week...

...has consisted of:

Lots of snow...


a sick Brennan...


and a smiley skillet.

Isn't that cool!  When I poured oil in the skillet the other night it made a smiley face.

I have tons of pictures from Brennan's birthday over the weekend, but at the moment no time to go through them.  So...when everything gets back to normal, I will be back to blogging.

Hugs,

Creativity Knows No Boundaries

{AKA}
The Reason Crayola Invented Washable Markers

Happy Valentine's Day and a Recap of the Last Few Days

I told you February was a busy month for us, hence the lack of post for the last few days.  We've been having a really good time!  The weather has been really nice around here.  Sunny and warm, so we've been spending some time outside, yay!  It should keep up at least another day, and then I'm sure we'll be back to our regularly scheduled winter.

Let's see, my last post was on Wednesday, so we'll go from there. 

Thursday was Jason's birthday.  He had to go into work that day, so we didn't get to do any birthday celebrating until the evening.  I made him his favorites, lasagna and apple pie.

Here's the pie, notice I didn't fill it up with as many candles as it needed, ha!

After we ate too much, it was on to the cards and presents.

Of course, if there are presents around Brennan has to be right there in the middle of the action.  I think Daddy appreciated the help. : )

Friday Jason had the day off, and for the first time in about a year and a half we had a real by ourselves date!  Whoo Hoo!  Brennan's school has a Parent's Date Night a couple night's a month, and we finally took advantage of it.  We should have done it a long time ago, he loved it, and we got some much needed time alone!  We'll definitely be adding that to the calendar every month. 

On Saturday, we spent some time playing outside, and I finished up Brennan's birthday shirt.





Pretty cool, huh?  I'm sure Jason is jealous he didn't get a shirt proclaiming his age on it. : ) 

The whole thing is confusing to Brennan though.  He knows his birthday is soon but all these other holidays keep coming up, and I have to keep telling him that it's not his birthday yet.  The anticipation is just killing him!

Sunday we got Brennan's Valentine's ready.
Here are the ones I we picked. : ) 


Aren't they cute!  I found them in the etsy store My Duck Duck Goose.  I know what you're thinking.  Yes, I could have made valentine's myself, but our really expensive color ink cartridge is empty right now, and this was just easier for me to deal with at the moment.  And did I mention how cute they were!

Brennan decorated the envelopes with some stickers.


So that brings us up to today, and that means a Happy Valentine's Day is in order!  We've all had a good day so far.  It's been nice and simple, nothing over the top.  We exchanged gifts this morning, and tonight we will be having heart-shaped quesadillas and strawberries for supper.

Brennan got to wear his Love shirt today.

"The Ladies Love Me."  Have I mentioned before that he's the only boy in his class?  He got lots of goodies from all his little girlfriends. : )

This morning, Jason surprised me by picking up a Starbucks on the way home from the gym.

Just one of the little reasons I love that man!

And now, though that was the condensed version, I think we're all caught up!  Whew, that wasn't as painful as I thought it would be.

Happy Heart Day, Everybody!

The Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I grew up with these cookies.  I am so happy Brennan loves them, too.  They are actually a variation from the recipe on the lid of the Quaker Oats canister.  Mom made them often, and they never lasted very long.  I've tried other recipes, and this one is still the best.  The cookies come out crisp around the edges and chewy in the middle.  Yum.

I meant to get a picture of these, since I made them this weekend, but they are all gone now.  Maybe next time. : )

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)


Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats, raisins, coconut and nuts; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack.

In my oven (and elevation), I usually have to bake them 11 or 12 minutes.  Lately, I have been making big cookies (two scoops with my cookie scoop), and I leave them in for 13 minutes.

The Weekend.

Last night I thought of a new requirement for the house Jason and I buy after he retires.  The den or family room or whatever room in the house the Super Bowl will be watched in, has to have that soundproofing insulation stuff on the walls.  And not just for the volume of the TV, no, more so for the decibel level my husband can reach when he watches sports.  Sheesh...I am sure they cold hear him all the way in Texas.  I wish I would have thought to record it...

I think my ears are still ringing. 

Craziness, I tell you, especially since neither the Packers or the Steelers are Jason's team.  I'll just put that on the list of things I don't understand. :-D 

And that is enough about that.  I'm sure everyone has already heard enough opinions on the entertainment and commercial portions of the game, so I won't go into that and bore you. (Worst. EVER!) 

The rest of the weekend was pretty non-eventful.  I did get a couple hours all by myself on Saturday.  Yay!  Jason had some shopping to do, and he took Brennan with him.  You'd think I would have done something really fun, but I just colored my hair, and took a shower.  Not too much fun, but it was nice to do both in a quiet house.

It was warm-ish on both days, so we all did get to spend some time outside soaking up some much needed Vitamin D.  Brennan and Jason ran around in the yard and threw the football.  Brennan's so cute, he told he every few minutes that when he gets big he is going to be a football player and wear a helmet.  It's all about the accessories you know.


And with that, I will leave you with this:

Brennan's "helmet" from this post, back in December 2009.

Some things just never change. 

The Clubhouse

A few quilts and sheets thrown over the dining room table...


with some comfy pillows and blankets inside...


...made the perfect pirate hideout.


or was it a giant doghouse?


or a great spot for a snack?


or an arena for some "cool car" racing?


Whatever it was throughout the day, he couldn't wait for Daddy to get home and share the fun.

He Had to Wear His Thinkin' Cap

Creeepy...


but I think it worked! : )