thrifty finds...

I went thrifting with my friend Kara on Saturday.

It had been a while since I'd been to the BIG thrift store in town and I missed the place.

I was also glad to be there with a friend who could share my same enthusiasm for finding a diamond in the rough, so to speak, while also finding great amusement in what can only been know as APOC, or

"a piece of crap".

Like this.

Totally APOC.

While it does bear scriptures from the holy bible,

those words straight from God are the only good thing this POC had going for it.

Big blue wooden heart with lace and tiny rossettes hot-glued around a bible, which, by the by, was also glued open to the book of Acts.

Stunning.

We also found a massive gold charger/plate thingy depicting some sort of ancient Greek battle. This thing was at least 24 inches in diameter, which leads me to believe it's intended to hang on the wall, perhaps?

Sadly, I did not snap a picture.

I apologize.

Here's the goods I brought home:

4 books,

4 necklaces,

1 pair of shoes,

a salt/pepper holder thingy,

white ceramic condiment holder,

4 glass mason jars,

1 wire jug/jar thingy,

1 red bucket

total spent = 20 bucks

I'd heard good things about The Pilot's Wife, and The Reader got rave reviews as a movie (and I always like the books better than the movie). I love reading about my fave actors and I didn't have this book about Julie Andrews. And that little blue book? Well, it's a Sunday School book for kids, it's vintage (1963), and well...it's just cute.

The blue beads in the top left corner are almost an exact match to a strand of beads I scored years ago from the same thrift store except for their color. The last set I found were turquoise, and I let my sis borrow them ONCE, and...well, they never came home again.

mallory = thief

(I kid, mal)

anyways, hopefully I can hang on to these blue babies.

The other necklaces pretty much speak for themselves, huh?

just pretty.

and not a single one over 2.98

if you've seen pics of my dining room, you know I have a love for all things white. I loved this piece from the moment I saw it. Nevermind that I had to ask Kara what it was.

It's pretty.

and it's white.

and it happens to be a condiment holder. (thanks Kara)

It's already chummy with the other white pieces in the hutch.

it even has a pretty flower/leaf thing going on on the inside of the cups- see?

mason jars.

they're good for holding stuff while looking fab.

Read Lindsey's post all about how she uses them HERE, and I guarantee you'll be wanting some of your own too.

p.s.- they were all between .15-.20 a piece!

a red heart bucket for .59?

yes please.

some blingy flippy-floppies for my Eliza.

Because the girl can't have too many pairs of shoes.

know what I mean?

I have big plans for that wire jug thingy come Easter.

Won't it look great with some speckled eggs inside?

And that salt/pepper holder was just cool.

haven't decided if I'm going to use it for its actual purpose yet or not.

just had to model one of the necklaces.

love how it frames my Lisa Leonard family tree.

And, while we're on the subject of thrifting, I must tell you of a blog that you must, must start reading. Her name is Kris, and for the whole of 2011, she's given herself a clothing budget of $365. 

That's it.

$365.

Did I mention she lives in LA?

As in Los Angeles.

yup.

She's on a quest to find designer duds at her local goodwill and you better believe I'll be checking in on her thrifty finds. 

And, because I'm curious...

have YOU found any thrifty goodies lately?

girls night out

Friday night, I went out with several of the girls from my Sunday School class.

We are all friends,

we are all mommies,

we all love to eat.

Thank you God for putting these people in my life-

don't know what I would do without them.

Here we are at Cyprus Inn-

(one end of table...)

Jamie, Stacey, Wyndi, Kathryn, Jennifer, DeeDee, Mel's arms, Kara

(action shot)

and the other end of the table-

Melanie, Kara, Me, and Jamie

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this was my dessert.

I rarely use the word 'bomb-diggity- because I so rarely come across something worthy of that title, ya know?

You can't just say any ole' thing was the 'bomb-diggity' because then it would lose its coolness.

this bread pudding?

well folks,

it was, in every way, the bomb-diggity.

I'd even go so far as to use the word

orgasmic.

yes.

yes I would.

If you're local, I dare you to try this.

DARE.

I promise you'll want to say bomb-diggity.

(it's coated in a warm rum sauce. need I say more?)

this was Kara's dessert.

brownies, ice cream, drizzled chocolate & caramel sauce.

I liked it, she did not.

Her tongue can detect a mass-produced-store-brownie, and while mine may be able to tell, it doesn't care.

it eats the mass-production anyway.

this was Mel's cheese cake.

I didn't try it, probably because I was too busy with my bowl of orgasmic bread pudding.

and since bread pudding, brownies, and cheese cake weren't enough-

we headed to Gigi's, the brandspankin new cupcake place in Midtown.

we arrived at 7:20,

they'd closed at 7:00,

BUT, an employee came to the door and handed all of us a menu and told us that they'd run out of ALL cupcakes before 7:00 anyway. This place is the Baskin Robbins of cupcakes- SO many yummy flavors! Sweet Potato, salted caramel, birthday surprise, boston creme pie, carrot cake, and the list goes on and on and on....

can't wait to go back when they're open.

so...since we struck out at Gigi's, we headed to Barnes and Noble for some coffee and treats but quickly remembered that it wouldn't be the best place for us to still be able to talk and carry on such as we like to do, so...

we went to the mall until closing time.

yep,

sometimes we like to act 14.

and then,

we went to my happy place.

do I even need to say it?

where else can you get laundry detergent,

a baby gift,

and these fine lookin night gowns all under one roof?

Target.

we played and shopped and had a blast,

and then,

went our merry way.

such a fun time.

ready for the next one.

anyone else out there have a fun girls night out recently?

words of wisdom...

here's a snippet of a conversation I had with Eliza last night.

enjoy.
(my apologies for the dryer noise)



what I wore Wednesday and other randomness...

3 outfits this week + 1 I forgot about from last week.

yep.

3 + 1 = 4

let's get to it...

(linked up with Lindsey again and extrememly jealous I'm not going to Blissdom this weekend to meet her and other fabulous bloggers. maybe next year...)

If you're joining me today for the first time- welcome and thanks for stopping by! I always use props in my WIWW posts because, well, I'm an actress. It just comes naturally.

dress- belk

cardigan- the limited

belt- Target

boots- nine west

prop- iphone

 scarf & belt- Target

dress & jeans- old navy

boots- lucky brand

prop- chicken alfredo reheated from dinner the night before

top- the limited

vest- coldwater creek

belt- Target

necklace- premiere jewelry

jeans- gap long and leans

shoes that you can't see but are fab- dansko clogs

prop- rolled up Kelly's Kids catalog

dress- belk

tights- target

boots- ebay (no clue what brand at the moment)

turquoise ring- hospital jewelry sale

turquoise earrings- no clue

prop- Mary Martin

(her diaper and socks are from Target)

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randomness...

I made a big pot 'o chili saturday.

it is the only thing I can make that the hubs actually likes to eat.

(thank you Judy Holland for that recipe you wrote on the blue index card. I'm still using it a year later...)

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after seeing several ads and reading several blog posts about the Canvas People and their FREE canvases made from your precious photos, I decided to check em out. I'm here to tell you...

it's legit.

when I ordered mine a month ago, they were offering free 8 x 10 canvases (all you pay is shipping) with an option to size up to larger canvases for a fraction of what they'd normally cost.

I chose to size up.

I paid 9.99 for an 11 x 14 of my favorite most recent pic of my kiddos (taken by the fabulous Erin Schmidt) and it arrived a few days ago-

I'm seriously loving it,

and yes- I stepped outside to try to get better lighting, but it's been pretty yucky/rainy/gray here for a while now.

of course, when I turned around, someone had snuck outside behind me

haven't decided where to put it yet.

for now, it's living next to the LOVE sign on the piano.

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we celebrated 3 more birthdays last night with the hubs family at a Japanese steakhouse in town

E LOVED watching our food being cooked

singing happy birthday to Diane (hubs aunt), Blake (hubs cousin's son), and Maxine (hubs grandmother)

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tonight-

I'm in the kitchen.

cooking heating up food for E and O for dinner.

I call them into the kitchen to eat.

in they come.

sometime in their walk from the living room to the kitchen, an object changes hands.

E decides she's going to share a toy with MM, who is playing happily in the dining room in her bouncy seat.

as I'm at the table with O and E in the kitchen, I hear MM gagging.

bad, bad sound.

I run into the dining room, and I find this in her hand...

well, I find the glasses in her hand.

that little torn off part in front?

I found that in the back of her throat after i went in digging.

yum.

Thank you, E, for being a sweet big sister, only-

next time, let's not give the babe something she'll eat that's not food.

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I just love the front of this cheerios box, don't you?

makes me want to cut that heart out and do something with it.

hmmm......

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and lastly,

here's a pic of someone who didn't want to go to bed tonight.

she's hiding.

but i found her.



weekend recap

the Mathews had a super-busy weekend.

what about you?

here are the hightlights...

(caught in the act of....something)

so sweet, and yet...she's wondering what other mischeif she can get into...

playtime on the bed

I think E was actually trying to put her socks on MM

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a project I'm working on for my Dad.

Do you have any idea how crazy difficult it is to get a 7-month old to spread their hand out flat so you can put paint on it? All she wanted to do was curl her fingers into a fist...

 MM (7 1/2 months) E (20 months) and O (almost 6 yrs)

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Happy Birthday Pop!

We celebrated with him and the fam at an Italian restaraunt in town friday night.

had to get me and the hubs in there too...

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saturday-

Eliza asked uncle Kent to put this mask on her, ran to O's room and grabbed one of his sabers, and proceeded to come back and whack us all

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sunday-

Mary Martin was dedicated Sunday morning at our church- such a special day. Much of our family was there to celebrate with us. They showed pics of her and the other baby being dedicated on the big screens in the sanctuary. LOVED looking back at the pics of her as a newborn (even if I did send them in myself for the slide show). Something about seeing them up there on the big screens really made it all the more evident that the kiddos are growing SO fast. There were pics of us in the hospital when she was born, and with her brother and sister for the first time, and now all three of them look so much older, even though it was just 7 1/2 months ago. Good gravy,...she'll be 8 months in 4 days.

oy.

The other baby was Thomas Scales, whose daddy grew up with the hubs. His mommy also lived down the street from me growing up, so it was a special treat that he and Mary Martin were dedicated on the same day.

I was determined to get a shot of everyone after the service (missed you Aunt C!)

of course the hubs and his brother have to go and mess it up...

shenanigans.

doesn't the hubs look handsome in his bow tie though?

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and that brings us to today-

Oliver's class celebrated his teacher's birthday with a pirate/princess party

(a few sword fights broke out. naturally.)

pin the crown on the princess

and there's my O on the left with a couple of pirate buddies. I love the pirate face he's making...arrggggh...

didn't even get a shot of Queen Williams, his teacher. She had on a crown and a fab feather boa.

Love our school.

and tonight, we're off to celebrate three birthdays on the hubs sude of the family, Japanese style. SO many birthdays lately, and then O reminds me on the way to school that he'll be 6 in a month. One month from today exactly.

yowza.

I'm not ready.

(emotionally OR decorative-wise)

hope you all had a wonderful weekend-

Any birthdays going on in your family?

p.s.- green slime also wipes off of my new BFF's

and

got some happy mail today that I'll be posting about later...