Let's Talk About Mint Green Jeans For A Minute

So, if you had told me ten years ago that I would be wearing pastel jeans one day I would have probably just laughed a little bit.

I was a child of the outlandish and colorful 80's, but a teenager of the early to mid 90's grunge and super-plain era (think flannels and Birkenstocks, and remember Gwyneth Paltrow's boring famous slip dress that changed formals for awhile?), and a young adult in the late 90's/early 2000's tailored-classic-neutral era (I loved and admittedly still love Meg Ryan's entire black, white, and gray wardrobe in You've Got Mail).  For well over a decade there was a lot of black, white, gray, brown, tailored lines, boot cuts, and high heels in my life.  I still have and often wear many of those neutral classics.

But a few years ago things started loosening up.  And I kind of liked it.  It was sort of refreshing, these maxi dresses and billowy sleeves and loose tops and stretchy, comfy skinny jeans and ballet flats and patterns and all this color, color, color.

And I'm old enough to know the tide will turn again one day.  We will go back to black turtlenecks and gray pants and slim blazers.  And I will like it because the styles will be updated from a really neat time in my life.

But right now I'm just loving and embracing all this color and flow.

So about a month ago I found a great deal on a pair of mint green jeans and bought them.  And started digging in my closet for fun combinations.  And wearing these pastel jeans all the time.

I think I'm kind of hooked!

Who would have ever thought.

(Found that last top at Ross recently for $7.99, and it is probably one of my 

favorite items to pair with my mint jeans.)

Last Week In A Glimpse

*You would not have believed the excitement over this super simple breakfast.  It was even said that I cook the "best things in the universe" by the pickiest eater in the house!  But I must admit, warm blueberry muffins, bacon, and coffee make a home smell amazing.

*It was definitely a week for sea life around here.  Between dolphins dancing at Epcot and sea creatures galore on Madi's field trip to the aquarium, we got to take in some pretty fantastic views of God's creation this week.

*The past few days have been sunny and just gorgeous, but gray skies and chillier weather earlier in the week made hot cocoa the perfect homework companion.

*I was given this scarf by a sweet lady in our church and think it is so pretty.  Such a nice surprise...it was cozy and cheerful on a cool day!

*My mom and I did a little sale shopping and she bought me this great little blazer for $10.  Loving it!!

I don't know about you, but I was thankful to be in the Lord's house today and in His Word.  What a blessing to worship freely.  Tonight finds me extra exhausted and ready to turn in very soon...a new week has begun and we will see what it holds!

High Five For Friday!

1) Been shopping my closet for "Florida Fall Fashion"...more autumn-in-a-warm-climate inspired outfit ideas to come soon!

2) Totally challenged by this book.  Continuing on in the study.

3) Enjoyed a corn maze field trip with my little buddy and his class!  It was a nice breezy day on the farm, we had a sweet time together, and he came home with the cutest little pumpkin.  Not to mention he won a free snow cone because he hit a target with a high powered contraption that blasted tennis balls out at full force.  It was a good day to be five!

4) Received this fun little surprise (and a matching waist apron) from my mom!

5) Baked these by request.  Still need to frost them. We are feeding the cheerleading team at the church this afternoon and a few of the girls begged me to bake Funfetti Cookies again.  Have you ever made these?  They are the easiest treat to make and are soft and delicious!

Mix 3 boxes Funfetti Cake Mix (now 15.25 oz), 3/4 cup oil, and 5 eggs.  

Roll dough into balls and put on cookie sheet.  Press flat with a glass. 

 Bake 6-10 minutes in 375 degree oven.  

Will make good sized batch.  Frost lightly if desired.

Linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk.

One Necklace, Five Ways...

This summer I was at Versona and this great necklace caught my eye.  I spent around $12 on it and have accessorized everything from maxi dresses to white t's and cutoffs with it since.  Here are five of the ways I have worn this one fabulous and affordable necklace...

Life is busy, wear something fun that makes you feel energized!

Ramblings Of An Office Supply Geek

So, I'm wondering... is there anyone out there who can get excited with me about these?

Bought myself a fresh pack of "Bible Study Pens" today.  My favorite kind.  So happy!

I've always had a thing for office supplies.  When I was a kid, my mom would let me wander the office supply aisle at Giant while she did the grocery shopping.  In my memory, that aisle is huge.  I was mesmerized by the post-it notes, paper clips, highlighters, and legal pads.  At one time I had both lavender and aqua loose leaf paper.  It was beautiful.  I had one of those huge pens with, like, ten colors of ink where you would push down the little lever for the color you wanted.  I collected as many church and business notepads and pens that I could get my little hands on.  I dreamed of having a receipt book.  I had a special fondness for eraser caps.  Okay, I still do.  And don't even get me started on these...

(google images)

(google images)

Seriously, my heart just sped up looking at those photos!  I don't know how many times I drooled over these wonders in the aisle at Giant.  I finally got an off brand "Trapper Keeper" with a rainbow and unicorn on the cover at Dart Drug.  Had the legit teal green and purple Trapper Portfolio folders though.  Aqua and red ones too.  I honestly felt like my life was complete when I first brought that loaded notebook to school!  Oh, the memories of yesterday.  I wish I still had that thing.

But I do have my happy little pens.  

And tomorrow they will be waiting for me, full of ink and color and promise, all wrapped up with a perfect gripper.

I Paid Way Too Much For A Box of Cereal

As a general rule, I have never been one to buy cereal unless it is on sale, mostly buy one get one free.  And the prices of cereal at Aldi are even better than that so now I usually stock up when I make a trip there.  But even a frugal girl can be susceptible to a great marketing scheme now and then!  So I have to tell you, I paid full price for a box of Wheaties the other day just because of the box...

Yes, that is the vintage box from 1984 with Mary Lou Retton on it! Yes, I had that same American flag leotard even though I was pretty much the worst gymnast ever. Somewhere there is even a [rather frightening] photo of me wearing it with my navy blue school uniform knee socks and a pair of roller skates.  (I'll have to ask my mom to dig up that gem.)

I even had the haircut, which would be one of the bigger mistakes of my life.  The growing out phase was painful, especially when your mom still insisted on making you sleep in pink sponge rollers the night before your school picture even though you told her it was too short and wouldn't look right.  Just picture a girl in a puffy sleeved plaid dress with wings on her head and massive buck teeth (I'll have to dig out that photo too).  It's a wonder any of us survived our school years!  But knee socks, roller skates, buck teeth, wannabe Mary Lou haircut and all, I must say 1984 was a good year.  And seeing this box brought back some memories of those good old days!

So this morning, I ate an overpriced breakfast.

But hey, at least it was the breakfast of champions.

:)

Some Things Are Just Plain Fun!

Like making my kids' sandwiches on these adorable Goldfish sandwich thins my mom spotted and picked up for us at the grocery store!  Madi and Trev are loving these!  They are so cute, and also have fiber and other good stuff in them.

Finding a box of Star Wars fruit snacks for my little Jedi for 79 cents at Publix.  Then smiling when you discover he has put them all in a line and in groups.  Yoda's together, check.

Spotting masks for your masquerade intrigued girl that rang up for $1.04 each at Publix.  Seeing her delightfully discover them after school and immediately put them on for dress up was a treat for me!

Aren't you glad that in this complicated life, some things are just plain fun?!!

If Your Little Girl Likes To Play School

Then you may want to head to Walmart.  I got these super cute items - complete with wise old owls - for 97 cents apiece there last week.  I can't resist little metal buckets (perfect for crayons, pencils, chalk, everything small!) and this one was so adorable.  I knew Madi would get a kick out of using the name tags and planning book when she pretends she is a teacher, which is often! 

She has been enjoying these treats and using them a lot!  I remember how much I loved playing school when I was a kid.  I went to a small private school from K-8 and sometimes when the teachers would clean out their classrooms at the end of the school year, they would give me old textbooks, workbooks, and other various school supplies.  I recall feeling like I had hit the jackpot when that would happen!  I would go home and teach my dolls and stuffed animals all summer long!  Fun to see my daughter doing "teaching" of her own.  Definitely a great under $3 find!

Shop 'Til Your Frugal Flip-Flops Stop At A Starbucks!

Madi and I had a girls day out today, which was such a treat for me!  It was fun to spend some one on one time with her, and we did what girls do best - shopped until we almost dropped but then stopped at a Starbucks for some energy!

It all started last weekend when we were out and about and Madi saw a fancy, feathered masquerade mask.  She wanted it so badly but it was over $40, so it was one of those you-are-definitely-not-getting-it-and-please-don't even-touch-it kind of things.  Later that week when Trevor and I were out running some errands, we stopped in Kirkland's and I saw sparkly feathered masks that were fabric with an elastic headband for $4.99.  Now that was the right price, so I told Madi about them when I picked her up from school that afternoon - of course she wanted to go right that minute, but I knew there would be no time between teaching music lessons and church activities during the week.  I told her if she was good, we could go out Saturday and she could pick one out.  I can vouch that this proposition brought some serious excitement and anticipation to her 6 year old world!

She was good and I kept my word, and this morning we headed off to purchase the mask.  We first stopped in Belk and browsed the clearance racks, on which I have found some absolutely amazing deals lately (you know my love for clearance racks, and I am a tried and true end of season bargain shopper).  A few weeks ago we were in Belk with some girls and Madi, who had recently grown out of almost all her shoes, saw these cute flip-flops she loved. They were well made and flip-flops are an almost year-round shoe here in the sunshine state, but the $25 shoes were only on sale for $19 and I told her there was just no way I could afford them.  She was very disappointed; there were sad tears; you moms have been there, done that.  (I felt like I was reliving my own childhood!!  Bless my mom's heart.  I cried more than once in a store when I was a kid.)  So like my own frugal, stay-at-home used to tell me, we were just going to have to wait to see if they went on sale further and we left empty-handed.

Well...here we were a few weeks later and I am happy to say the flip-flops were down to $12.50 with an extra 50% off, so at $6.25 I was able to buy them for her!  She was thrilled, and it made for a very good conversation about not getting everything we want, or everything right away, and the importance of waiting and being wise and frugal.  A happy girl wore her flip-flops for the rest of our girls day out!  And I was excited to be able to treat her to them because last week her teacher gave us the most glowing report about both her academics and character, and Jimmy and I thought a small reward was in order.

Our next stop was Kirkland's where she picked out a sparkly purple mask, and promptly put it on and wore it for the rest of the day!  We had fun browsing the home decor and looking at the fall and Christmas decorations.  When we got home, she played dress up with the mask for hours, and it is still on as I type!  I imagine I will see it a lot in the days to come.

And just because I love a good value and I know many of you do too, I have to tell you about my other clearance racks finds.  First, a maxi dress for $4.99.  Yes, I said $4.99!  (By the way, where were these amazingly comfortable but stylish dresses during my pregnancy and post-childbirth days?  I had kids during the tucked-in-and-tailored era.  What was that about?! I am a dress-wearing sort of girl, and am loving this cute and comfy look!)

And then probably one of the best bargains of my life.  Four very nice mens' shirts for $13.92.  Total.  I was so tickled when I saw the receipt...total cost $13.92, you saved 107.99!!! Now that is my kind of shopping!

After our browsing and bargain hunting, I took my frugal flip-flop and sparkly mask wearing girl to Starbucks.  She adores the pumpkin bread there, and I got my first pumpkin scone of the season!  I also finally got to try the Salted Caramel Mocha, and was quite certain I approved.  Yum!  While we had our snack we chatted about this and that, and talked further about making wise choices and how waiting is a good thing.  Slightly ironic since I was drinking an almost $4 cup of coffee, but hey, some things are worth the splurge now and then!  And I waited nearly 3 weeks since my last Starbucks splurge for that treat!

Good things do come to those who wait.  :)

Happy Saturday to you all!  Hoping your day was grand!

Super Fun Find!!!

My name is Jennifer. My favorite color is yellow.  Among the things I love are creativity, fun tablescapes, hostessing with the mostessing, dressing my nest, finding terrific deals, and seasonal decorating. 

And check out what I found on clearance on Saturday!!

Can you believe it?!  It had my name written all over it!  Here, take a closer look!

I can't hardly stand it.  It is a yellow tub of endless possibilities!!  

Be still my homemaking heart.

My Momma Knows Me Well

And the other day she brought these by which made my day!  Yes, the flavor of that candle is Creme Brulee, and does it ever fill my house with an inviting aroma!  And every.single.dessert in that cookbook looks so good it makes me want to bake all day!

Getting a delivery of your favorite things is fun!

The Things I Get Excited About These Days!

A few weeks ago my mom hosted a Thirty-One party, the first I had been to, and it was so much fun!  Evidently Thirty-One is a Christian company (the name stems from Proverbs 31) and they design adorable purses, bags, storage containers, and more.  It's all about stylish function which is something I am definitely into!

Whenever we go on Disney days, beach days, or any sort of day, I pack our lunch and often dinner as well!  It saves us lots of money and allows us to do fun things as a family without worrying about overspending on food while we are out.  We will buy ice cream or a snack, but don't have to worry about purchasing meals which adds up so quickly with four people.

When I saw this adorable insulated cooler in the catalog, I knew it is what I wanted.  It is a great size, big enough for drinks and food for at least two meals.  It has a long strap that can be worn across your shoulder or hang from the back of a stroller!  It will eliminate me having to bring 3 insulated lunch bags (what I usually do now) or a hard cooler that is awkward to carry (and our small one is too small and our big one too big for a day outing).  I also like that it has a big pocket on the front where I can store napkins and plasticware.

Thirty-One also offers reasonably priced monogramming so I had "family fun day" stitched on it since that is what it will be used for.  I had been anticipating its arrival and finally got it yesterday - and I am so thrilled with this cute and handy little thing!

Insulated coolers...these are the things I get excited about these days!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

Besides brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things these days!!

This shirt.  My friend Natalie kept telling me about this accessory store called Charming Charlie.  When I was in Maryland, my friend Laurie and I stumbled across one and I was instantly smitten by this magical world of affordable accessories, all displayed beautifully on color coordinated tables.  As I was making my way through this enchanted place, Laurie told me she was buying me a shirt she saw because she knew I would love it.  It was embellished with strings of pearls and lace.  And she was right.

Maryland blooms.  I so enjoyed seeing them a few weeks ago.

Wasabi Sauce.  My love affair with wasabi and soy almonds continues, but now I fancy this sauce as well.  One of my favorite sandwiches of late is turkey on a sandwich flat with this spicy sauce, provolone, and dill pickle stackers.  Ahhh, the burn.  (And no I'm not pregnant, I just perpetually eat like I am.  My husband thinks I have deficient taste buds that require extremely strong flavors to be satisfied!! I just tell him he doesn't know what he's missing!)

Cream cheese and olive sandwiches.  (Speaking of strong flavors, I suppose!) Don't knock it until you've tried it.  Yum.

This water bottle.  It was given to me by an employee at a Vera Bradley store as I browsed for my mom's Mother's Day gift.  Now that's customer service, served in style!  

My little red shelf.  Found it a couple months ago for $5.99 at Marshall's.  What a happy addition to my kitchen!

This granola.  Available in the organic section of Publix.  Good by itself, with milk, or in yogurt.

My Wavelength nail polish.  Goes on so smoothly, dries very quickly, and truly is one of the best spring/summer shades I've found!  When on it is a perfect blend of pink and coral.  A cheap find at Target.

Buckets from the $1 section of Target.  They are used for all sorts of things around here.

My morning mugs.  Nothing like the first whiff and first sip of fresh brewed coffee, especially in a colorful mug that makes you smile.

The Paul: 90 Days on His Journey of Faith study I've been doing.  I'm on lesson 52 and it has been great.  Paul is so real, so raw.  He was completely sold out to Christ, but he struggled with his humanity just as we do. It has been good to follow him on his missionary journeys and the ups and downs he faced along the way.  He definitely had both his moments of victory and moments of discouragement, just like all of us involved in kingdom work, but he was faithful to the end.  I can't wait to see what else I learn during the rest of this journey of faith.

What are your favorite things these days?!