Getting Great Deals

When it comes to getting deals I don't mind doing a little digging. The deals are out there just waiting for you to find them.

Email Lists - 
Some of the easiest ways to find the very best and sometimes super secret deals are to get on email lists. Companies will send out "members only" emails to those on their lists. There are very few places that don't have some sort of a mailing list. If they don't say anything about it you might ask. Email lists are not hard to subscribe to and sometimes the savings are substantial! You will be subjected to lots of emails so if you don't want your regular email cluttered up I suggest an alternate email address dedicated to joining lists.
Gmail is my personal favorite and you can join for free.

Job Related Discounts -
Depending on the job you do you might be entitled to a discount. I know that Verizon gives a discount to teachers and those who have companies that contract with them. JoAnn's and Michael's give teacher discounts. If you are over a certain age you can often get discounts. Military? Yep, you get a discount at Lowe's and Home Depot as well as other places. You never know where you can get a discount so don't be afraid to ask!

Sale Papers -
This may seem like a no brainer but if you keep a serious eye on the sale papers you can sometimes cash in. Companies are becoming more competitive for customers. I know that Wal-mart will match any price in a sale paper. If you have a store you like but the sale item you want is at another store don't be afraid to bring the sale paper to your preferred store and see if they will price match. The worst thing to happen is to hear them say no. You can always go buy from their competitor.

Online Shopping -
Ebay, Etsy, Craig's List and even Goodwill are great online places to shop. You can get new and used goods often for pennies on the dollar.

Swaps -
One of my personal favorites. Get your girlfriends together and decide what the swap will be. Will you swap purses and shoes or clothing and jewelry? You could also do a pot and pan or dish swap. This is a great way to get "new" items without having to search. You also know where the items came from if you are leery of purchasing second hand items.

Garage and Estate Sales -
Enough said. Truly garage and estate sales are my love. There is nothing better than trolling through dusty boxes for treasures!

Free Books on Amazon dot com -
Love to read? Go to Amazon dot com and type in "free kindle books" and see how many pop up! I suggest you get a snack before embarking on the journey. You will sit for a long time as you scroll through page after page of free books for your reader. If you don't have a Kindle you can get the app for your Android product.

Paperback Swap -
I did another blurb about Paperback Swap but it is such a great thing that is worth repeating. Their website gives all the information.
NOTE: This is also the portal for DVD Swap as well as a CD swap.

Blogs -
Many of the blogs I read have a section dedicated to finding free or greatly reduced items. You just have to take the time to find these little gems.

Facebook-
Believe it or not facebook is being used more and more to push businesses. If you have a facebook page and you "Like" their page they will sometimes give you free items or great discounts.

If you have any great suggestions for free or reduced items please feel free to let me know!

Making Time for Living Your Dream

Good Sunday morning to everyone!
For those who read this blog on a fairly regular basis you know about my friends Betsy and Warren Talbot of Married with Luggage. These two amazing people didn't just talk about living some of their dreams some day they ARE living their dreams NOW!
I am not as brave as they are. My dreams are not as big but they are just as important. Everyone is told to "Dream Big or Go Home." Well, what about those of us who dream big ABOUT their home?

I dream big about my house. I want to make it the best it can be. I used to be one of those crafters who let the daily grind get me down. I never seemed to have time. My favorite words were "I'll do it tomorrow." Sometimes I would look at a job and think that it was just too much for me to do. Other times I thought I couldn't do it because I wasn't a "professional."

I kept letting these things stop me and one day I looked in the mirror and thought......Don't.
I grabbed my hot glue, my paint and a hammer and nails and went forward and I have never looked back!

Don't think that there is no time to do things.
You have the time, it just has to be rearranged a bit. While watching your favorite TV show you could fold the clothes. During commercials run the laundry to the correct rooms then put it away at the next commercial. You get the laundry done and a little exercise to boot! Now you have that time to craft.

Don't feel a job is too daunting.
You have heard the old joke asking how to eat an elephant?
No?
You eat him one bite at a time.
Sometimes the whole vision can overwhelm you. When you break things into bite sized pieces you can still see the whole picture but have a clear plan of what to do step by step.
Lists are the way to go. Make a list on paper, the computer or use a bulletin board to stick your ideas on.

Don't worry if you aren't a professional.
Professionals were just people at one time. These days most of the "professionals" are people who have convinced others that their ideas are good! ; )
Case in point, my go to guy for building. He has no formal training, works from his house and doesn't advertise because his work speaks for itself. He is a young man, not even thirty and he has a successful business, a home, a nice vehicle and is about to get married to a lovely woman.
This guy is so busy that he can't keep up with the work and all without being a "professional."

You CAN do it. You just have to WANT to do it.
I wanted to do it and I haven't stopped and I won't stop till the paint brush is pried from my cold dead fingers! : )

Searching for Treasure - Garage Sales

Garage sales are amazing places to find that one of a kind item. Here is the first of a few tips from my personal adventures in shopping.

1. Dig
This is a must. When you get to a garage sale and see boxes that have not yet been unpacked take the time to dive in! Don't worry about dust or dirt because that can be easily remedied with a little soap and water. You never know what treasure is lurking under the newspaper wrapping!
*Remember to always be careful when you reach into a box of glassware because there may be broken items!*

2. Inspect your item
Once you have your treasure be sure to inspect it. If there are chips or cracks are they things that can be hidden by turning the item a certain way? If you have a vase that has a chip on the edge can it be hidden by putting flowers in it? Can you do a quick fix with some paint? If your item is chipped, cracked or otherwise imperfect but you know that the flaw can be disguised go for it! I have come across some amazing items for very little money because people were not visionary enough to realize that small flaws can be disguised.

You can see the chip in the ashtray.

I found a paint that matched the original color. Once the paint dried I put a little bit of clear nail polish to give is some shine and protect the paint.

This is the dish being used as a jewelry catch all.

3. Realize you can recover chairs, headboards, ottomans and anything else with material
This is another must for the garage sale, flea market and Goodwill divas! Always look at the bones of the item. That Gothic bordello fabric can be replaced easily in most cases. If you are unable to recover the items yourself but you know you love them and that they are worth it, make the investment in professional reupholstering. You will be glad you did each time you sit on your chair, couch or ottoman!
Below was one of my adventures in recovering. The ottoman had been in the home of a frisky cat that used it as a scratching post. The bones were good and it was solid so a few yards of material and a few hours later voila! 

Never underestimate that find. Just because someone else passed it up doesn't mean you do!

For the Book Lover

If you are like me you LOVE books. You love the feel, the smell and the texture of words on the pages. If you are like me you also get overwhelmed with the amount of books in your house. Book obsessions can be VERY expensive but fear not you have options!

E-Readers- I personally have a Kindle so my advice comes to you from this point of view - this is a way to satisfy your lust to read by using a handy dandy e-reader. You can go to Amazon.com and find all sorts of free books. Just go to the section and type in "free books for Kindle"
If you want to read books from another device or your computer you can go here and download the app for free.

Paperback Swap - is a way for you to swap books with millions of other folks. Take a look at their website for all the details. I personally love them because I can get books that I want while sending away books I am through with. It is a win/win situation!

Shopping at Goodwill - my local Goodwill has books 5 for a dollar. Just typing it makes my head swim! I come home with TONS of great decorating books for TWENTY CENTS EACH! Once I go through them and grab the ideas I want I put them on the Paperback Swap and away they go! Again, it is a win/win situation! *NOTE: your local Goodwill may not have this deal going on!*

Garage sales - again one of the reasons I adore garage sales is the great books! If you are fortunate enough to find a fellow reader you can really clean up. Sometimes, if you go later in the day you can bulk buy the books. They want to get rid of them and you want to take them home. What sort of situation is it? Yep, win/win! : )

Local book stores - some local book stores will "buy" your books for store credit. You can take those credits and buy what you want. This is a good way to do things if you don't want to bother with mailing the books off via the Paperback Swap.

One Man's Trash...

One man's trash is another man's treasure is an old saying but it is still just as true today!
I present to you a distressed and discarded child's table.

Now most people (including my dear husband) look at it and quote Luke Skywalker's immortal words "What a piece of JUNK!"
To that I say poppycock! I see SO many things here!

The top is no good so it was removed and sent to the recycling bin.  Now I am left with these amazing legs.

They even have the base and screws to reuse. Talk about not wasting anything! ; )

Now to let the creative juices flow.....In these legs I see:
~legs for another table
~stakes for garden signs
~bases for candle holders
~a picture frame
~a chalkboard frame
and the list goes on and on! You will just have to stay tuned to see what I decide to do with these beauties!

I Have Returned to the Land of the Living!

Well, what a way to start my summer! The Friday I get out of school I am attacked by the local plague. It was gruesome and I don't suggest tangling with this thing at all!
Luckily I am married to a nurse who took superior care of me!
When I was lucid I thought, I need to get together a post about natural ways to cure yourself of a cold. It has taken four days for me to become well enough to sit down and work on it. So, without further shameless plugs for pity I present my home remedy ideas. (Nope, I am not a doctor so don't take this as "official" medical advice. It is just what works for me! : )

1. LOTS of fluids, preferably water with lemon. Here is why. The fluids keep the mucus from getting thick. It is better to drink more water than less.

2. Vitamin C......lots and lots of it!

3. Use a Neti Pot. I swear by this! It will get all the gunk out of your sinuses and keep it from draining down your throat. This will avoid that annoying and painful sore throat that most get with a cold.
NOTE: You will be grossed out the first time you use it. DON'T STOP! You will save yourself heartache and pain if you keep using it. (I even use it when I am not sick to keep my allergies under control.)

4. HOT showers. For me a hot shower is the ultimate way to relax when I don't feel well. I suggest you get in the shower and get all warm and relaxed. Take your wash rag, heat it up and inhale the steam from it. If you have a little eucalyptus essential oil put a couple of drops on the rag and use that to help clear the congestion. I found that if I stayed in a hot shower for a fair length of time when I got out and had my hubby pound on my back it made all the difference in dislodging the gunk in my lungs.

5. Rest/sleep......again lots and lots of it! Your poor body needs time to fight off the invaders and if you are running it down you are doing yourself no good.

6. Keep tabs on your temperatures and your medicine intakes. Keep a little tablet near your medicines and track your temperature as well as when to take your meds. There is nothing worse than taking meds, going to sleep and forgetting when you took them. It is a sure way to mess up the dosages.

7. Warm jammies and the furry baby of your choice. Nothing is as healing as having warm jammies that are ultimately soft and comfy and your fur baby cuddled next to you. In my case it is my cat Bermuda. He helped me sleep by purring in my ear to relax me.

Now, having typed all the natural stuff, let me add in the two pharmaceutical items I use. One is Tylenol or a generic brand. This keeps the fever down when it gets too high. I don't take Tylenol when I have a low fever  because it is the body's way of burning out the infection.  The other thing I use is Mucinex, or a generic bran. It is a must to get that hard to reach gunk in your lungs.

I hope none of you get a summer cold but if you do, try some or all of these ideas to help you make a quick transition from the land of sickness back to the land of the living! : )

Guerilla Gardening

Guerrilla Gardening is a term that I hadn't herd until I saw a recipe for seed bombs on Mavis Butterfield's site One Hundred Dollars a Month. For those (like me) who hadn't heard of this type of gardening it seems that the phrase was coined in 1973 by Liz Christy and her Green Guerrilla group in 1973 in the Bowery Houston area of New York.  If you want to read more about it check out this Wikipedia link.

Now to the real purpose of this post: spreading beauty in the world.
We are surrounded by ugliness in many forms and many times we feel that there is nothing we can do. To that I say, yes, you guessed it, poppycock! Beauty is there and waiting to be found or helped along. Haven't you ever walked along and noticed a flower growing between the cracks of the pavement? Mother Nature won't be stopped so why not just give the old girl a hand?

Seed bombs are a great way to do just that. Below are several links to sites that tell you different ways to make (or buy ~ick~) the same thing. You may find that you like one or a combination of a couple of them. I haven't done this yet but I am going to do it next spring. Our summers here in Texas are far too brutal to start seeds out in June so I must patiently wait. I don't have to be idle though. I will plot, plan and gather all the stuff together for my very own seed bombs! When I get ready to make the drops I will take before and after pics to share! : )

Directions to MAKE your seed bombs:
Mavis Butterfield's Seed Bombs
WikiHow to make a seed bomb
Heavy Petal

If you want to BUY (why buy when you can make!?) take a look at these sites.
Anthropologie dot com
GreenAid
Think Geek (one of my favorite stores!)

Taking Care of Your Summer Skin - Feet

My feet after a pedi!

 If you are like me you are absolutely brutal on your skin during the summer. My days are filled with gardening, painting and generally doing all the little "Honey Do" things that I can't get to during the school year. Summer is also a time for going without shoes! By the time fall comes my feet are in terrible shape. I try to care for them as much as possible but in the end I just have to accept that my love of Mother Earth is stronger than my desire to have "sexy" feet! : )

When the callouses get bad I use the Ped Egg. It is my go to callous remover but remember, NEVER use it right after a shower. Your feet are soft and it will cut you. Trust me on this.
If the callouses are not bad but you still have rough areas try a foot file. I suggest using it before a shower then using a good lotion afterward.

My favorite lotion is Grinning Goblin's Natural Cocoa Butter Hard Lotion. This stuff is truly amazing! It comes in a stick and smells like warm chocolate.
From the website: "Hard lotion is solid at room temperature but is easy to apply. Gently rub it in your hands and massage it in or rub the bar directly onto dry skin with the handy push up container. Your normal body temperature causes the lotion to soften and quickly melt into your skin. Hard lotion is especially great for cracked skin, dry heels, rough elbows, or alligator legs. It absorbs quickly and doesn't leave a greasy or sticky residue. It only takes a few seconds to apply and since it is free of water and filler a little goes a very long way."

You Cleaned It Out.....Now What?

Ok, so you have decluttered your house. Now what? Well, there are several options. Some will make you money, some will make you friends and the rest might make you a few enemies!  ; )

Selling it off! 
The best thing to do is to sell off your unwanted items. I suggest you have a garage sale. The items are in the garage one minute and out the door the next. This is an easy way to get rid of items and get a little cash. The downside is that you can't charge as much at a garage sale as you could listing items on a sale site such as Craig's List or Ebay. You can also send your items to a local consignment shop. You bring it in and they sell it with them keeping a portion of the sales as their fee for selling the items for you.

Donating it
There are always charitable organizations that are more than happy to get your unwanted items. Please, don't send them trash. If it is broken beyond repair, missing parts or generally cannot be used you will want to toss it. Many charitable organizations run on donations and volunteers so they don't have time to take out your trash.
Some charitable organizations are: Goodwill, The Salvation Army, your local women and children's shelter or perhaps a local church.
If you have items that can be used in building houses consider Habitat for Humanity. They take your unwanted items and use them to build houses for those who are less fortunate. What a great way to share!
Books, magazines and other reading materials may be suitable for donating to nursing homes. Check with nursing home or hospice facilities in your local area about it. Why not share that Better Homes and Gardens or latest Harry Dresden book with someone rather than throw it out?

Recycling
If it is something that can be recycled please consider doing so rather than putting it in a landfill. Some items can be sold to recycling companies while others are just donated to keep a cleaner world. If you have items that you are unsure of contact your city's recycling department. If you have items that are toxic (paint, paint thinners, old batteries) you will definitely need to check with your city to see about recycling these items.

Giving It Away
This is where you might get into trouble. If you have friends who like STUFF consider asking them to come and take a look at some of yours. Depending on who the friend is you might wind up in trouble with their significant other for giving them the junk! ; )

No matter what you choose you will feel so much better when your load is lighter!

Living In and Loving a De-cluttered House

My dear friends Betsy and Warren Talbot of Married With Luggage have truly inspired me to live in and love a clean house. Let me rephrase that, they inspired me to live in and love a DE-CLUTTERD house. I have always loved a clean house and I have always had a clean house but for some reason I often felt frustrated and I couldn't put my finger on why. After Betsy and Warren took off on their life changing adventure (read about that HERE!) and wrote a couple of books on the subject of paring down your life I got inspired to clean out. I took a hard look at what I had and I went through it asking myself  "If I had to leave for a hurricane what would I take? What do I truly value?"
I have to admit I was shocked because about 95% of what I looked at I truly didn't value! It was just stuff and it was weighing me down. I started to lighten the load and I was astounded at what I got rid of and never thought of again!
Not only am I thousands of pounds lighter in the junk area but my wallet is a little bit fatter because of it (that is another post that is yet to come)!

Here are some of my personal suggestions for de-cluttering while keeping what you love.

1. If you have to move it to live get rid of it!
That huge vase of flowers you have on the table that you have to move EVERY SINGLE TIME you go to set the table? Get rid of it! Opt for items that are lovely but functional like a colorful tray with your napkin holder, the salt and pepper shakers and any other items your family uses during meal times. You will still have decor on your table but it is functional and not frustrating to you on a daily basis! If you love flowers get a very small vase and put a couple of flowers rather than a huge vase with a full bouquet. Even better, use flowers that are growing in your garden to add that personal touch!

This is what sits on my table. 

2. Let go of the idea that you HAVE to keep all the family heirlooms.
This one is by far the hardest for most everyone I know. Guilt about items you inherited is a big problem. People tend to think that if you get rid of the item it doesn't mean you don't love Grandma or that you will forget her!! To that I say poppycock! If you inherited a cup and saucer that was part of Grandma's extensive collection of cups and saucers and you feel guilty about getting rid of it then repurpose it so you are glad you have it.
There are a multitude of ways to re-purpose family heirlooms in a way that are beautiful and functional. Below are a couple of ideas.
~China can be used to make a beautiful serving tray. You get to see the china and actually USE it rather than having it sit in the cabinet.

~Tea cups and saucers make amazing candle holders. Use an epoxy to glue the saucer to the cup, drop in a tea light and VOILA! You have a candle holder. Form and function! (I would strongly suggest using a tea light rather than burning an actual candle in the cup because of the unknown strength of the china. You wouldn't want to wind up with wax everywhere from a broken cup.) If you are the brave sort you can find a million tutorials on making candles in cups. Some are located at Design Sponge, Martha Stewart and Inhabitat.
~Tea cups and saucers also make amazing bird feeders. Again use epoxy to glue the saucer to the cup. Once that is dry glue the saucer to a stand and put it in your garden. Fill it with birdseed and enjoy watching the birds enjoy Grandma's china! : )

This item can be used as a candle holder or bird feeder. You can find it here.

~Silverware can make amazing wind chimes. I looked on the internet for inspiration because I knew what I wanted to do but my execution was poor. The chimes I had died in a hurricane and I haven't made another set. That is on my to do list for the summer. When you are preparing the flatware use a drill to make holes in the handle of the silverware then put a jump ring through the drilled hole and thread with fishing line or wire to your chosen topper. The jump ring keeps the sharp edges of the drilled hole from severing the fishing line. Some ideas are pot lids, serving trays, interesting shaped wood, a colander, a tea pot or a metal serving plate. Garden Drama has a great tutorial and I included a photo of the completed project from their site.

This amazing photo is from the Garden Drama site.

These ideas just barely scratch the surface of what you can do with a little thought and some elbow grease! Watch for future posts on recycling and re-purposing what you have! : )

Cleaning the Natural Way

Lately I have become increasingly concerned about all the chemicals in my life. In an effort to cut down my family's exposure to toxic substances I have begun to use more natural remedies for dirt and grime.
One of my new favorite things is lemon (or lime) infused vinegar! This stuff is amazingly easy to make and actually works very well. I must admit that I am not the originator of this amazing stuff. I have seen it on many blogs (remember I do research before I try something) and I thought, hey, if they can do it then I can do it! Here is the blog I snitched the recipe from - One Good Thing. Here is another page that has some great ideas for lemon for lemon-lime cleaning spray.

So without further ado here is my foray into the world of lemon and lime cleaning spray!

I love a bargain so I go to the bargain fruit bin and get a bag of lemons or limes for a dollar. As you can see this particular bag had about 15 limes in it for a dollar. That is a bargain when citrus is at the summer high.

 Take a clean Mason jar. I use quart jars because I use this cleaner on almost EVERYTHING. I even use it as an air freshener because I have two dogs and two cats as well as a smelly husband living with me.

You can use a lid with a ring or these nifty reusable plastic lids. They are made by Ball and you can get them online. I bought mine from ACE Hardware's online store. Take a look here. They are a little pricy but considering you can use them over and over the cost dissipates after time.

 Get some plain old vinegar. I buy it in the gallon size because of my copious use of my spray.

Before I cut the limes I roll them on the counter. This will get the juices flowing for easier squeezing.  I cut my limes long ways because I want maximum exposure to the vinegar.

 I squeeze the lime juice into the jar them drop in the rest of it. I like strong lime smell so I fill my jar pretty full of limes. You can use less if you like but I don't recommend it. I mean, if you are going for a lime smell why skimp?

 I hope you can see that the bottom of the jar has a concentration of lime juice. I give my jar a shake to mix it all up. I don't want the lime juice and the vinegar to be separate so a gentle shake mixes it up.

I was able to get two jars of lime vinegar from the bag.

 Put your limes in a dark quiet place and don't bother them for at least two weeks. I always mark my calendar because I get way too excited and will dig into the jar before the limes have had time to do their thing.

 After two weeks your limes will look a little less colorful and your liquid will be a yellowish color. Not to worry, this is what you want. You want all that good lime infusion.

 I strain my vinegar in a pretty fine strainer because I don't want little bits of lime clogging up the squeeze bottle when I am trying to clean.

Once you have your lime vinegar ready to go store it in a clean spray bottle. Don't mix it with anything else. If you don't like the strong smell you could put in a little distilled water. I don't because I want it strong.

ENJOY! : )