Birthday on a Budget and not living up to the Hype

Really, I could have cared less about having one (oh, am I not supposed to say that out loud?), but Anthony and everyone else said it was a MUST.  I was determined not to let this be a Pinterest monstrosity-meaning that I spent way too much time and money to make it super cutesy for a child that won't remember it.  What really happened will be in RED!

So, it's Tuesday.  Party is on Saturday.  And this week is crazy with MOM's groups, and
Bible Study, and new baby appointment, and small group, and Bunco.  Love them all, but they all coincided with this week.  So, preparation is key.  Here is the plan:

1.  Make cupcakes, as in bake them.  The actual decorating will be one of the activities at the party.  My sister and SIL made owl cupcakes for one of my showers.  All you need is cupcakes, oreos, m&ms, and frosting.  I am just planning on putting the stuff on the tables with a picture of these owl cupcakes from pinterest.  DONE!  Ingredients bought and pictures of owls printed!  COST- $16  I think I over bought.  So, people can make a cupcake to eat at the party and take one home!  We actually had probably just the right amount of everything.  I think people gravitated toward the oreos over the cupcakes, but who wouldn't?!?

2.  ABC book for Eleanor
I did one of these at a friend's baby shower, but decided to make it an activity for a 1 year old birthday party.  There will be a few children in attendance, so this will give them something to do and hopefully keep the adults off their phones.  I mean, who doesn't love sharp crayons!  And this will be something that can be used by Eleanor later.  For the time being I am just putting the pages in page protectors in a baby book that wasn't being used.  DONE!  I love free printables.  Everything you need is here!  COST-free!  I think this was mostly my family and the kiddos that participated with this.  We saved a letter for my sister to complete since she got stuck with the stomach bug and couldn't come.  I may add a picture from a magazine to the drawing.  

3.  Photo Opp
I am planning on doing streamers as the background for this, and asking Anthony's cousin to take pics with her new camera she got for Christmas or have his Dad set up his tripod.  We will see what happens.  Inspiration is bottom right hand pic from this blog.  Just need to set up streamers! COST- Orange and Pink Crepe Paper $2  My friend, Janie, and I didn't have time to set up the photo booth, and I am glad I didn't.  Megan did such a great job capturing people and party moments!  I can't wait to see how they turned out!  I am so thankful that I did not have worry about documenting the moment, and I could be there with my family.  Thanks Megan!

4.  Birthday Outfit
These things are ridiculously expensive.  I see people trying to resell this for $40 dollars, and I would not even pay that full price.  So, borrowed a cute orange and pink (already made-yes!) tutu from a friend and bought a onesie and some iron-ons from Hobby Lobby .  Not done yet.  COST-$6 30% off onesie and coupon for 20% off .  So, this was extremely frustrating and did not iron on.  It was a faulty product because the iron on hearts I got worked perfectly.  (Growl!)  Fortunately, my mom had some stitch witchery stuff, and we just cut out the 1 from pink material.   Also, don't wait until the last minute!

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5.  Balloon Owls
I have done tissue paper pom poms before, and I love them.  They have the biggest bang for the buck.  But since I did those for Eleanor's gender reveal, I am going to give these a try!  COST: bag of balloons + paper I already have = $1  Yep, nope, didn't happen.  We had some balloons hanging around.  

Other Decorations:
Plastic Tablecloth- totally reusable, too.  In fact, I am using one I have from Eleanor's gender reveal party.  $2
Plastic Cups and Napkins $4
Gallon of Milk + Water in a pitcher =$3

Total:  Around $35  I think it is important to go through and look at prices because I usually end up spending a lot more than I think I do because I always buy just a little bit here and there.

And that is it!  I am going to not run around like a crazy person.  All guests have three somewhat independent activities that also facilitate conversation.  Eleanor will smash a cupcake, and we will take a lot of pictures.  She will tear through tissue paper and love it!
The End.  Despite having a low key party and help, I am sitting here Sunday afternoon still trying to recover.  I am exhausted.  I guess that is what happens when you are 32 weeks pregnant.

Nailed It!

So, as a mom-on-the go or sometimes mom-all-day-home-at the house, I have had to find quick and EASY fashion fixes!  A few days ago, I posted about watches and what a facelift it can give your outfit.  (Or who am I kidding?  My "jeans and husband's baggy shirt" combo), outfit-if you can even call it that.

Well, I recently hosted a party for Jamberry nails.  I had seen them before, and I knew you could win free hostess rewards, so I gave it a try.

Now, mind you, I have been thinking about going to the nail salon, meh and hair salon, for months...months, people.  I have yet to make it to either one.  First, I can't bring Eleanor to the salon.  And secondly, last time I went I dropped $75.  Now on a one-income budget, those trips don't happen eva.

Well, after watching the how to video twice (slow learner), I figured out how to apply the nails, and I am in L.O.V.E.

Don't they look amazing!?!

I have always loved having my nails painted, but messed them up so easily.  And then after putting down a chunk of change, the nails would chip off and look trashy.

Tricked ya!  The only Jamberry wrap is the one that doesn't look horrible a few days later.  Jamberry for the win!

It is the easy fashion fix I needed.  Even though there is spit up on my clothes and my hair is a wreck, my nails look good!

Having less time than ever, and with another baby on the way, I love the ease of Jamberry nails.  I'm sold!!  So sold, that I can now sell Jamberry.  (Basically, I just want to fund my addiction.)  If you want the hook up or want to support my addiction, let me know!

xoxo,
Angela

Everything free is a scam, right?? Wrong!

I have been seeing advertisements all over the place for a free pair of glasses with Firmoo.  I was like no way am I going to be naive enough to be sucker into that scam.  I am here to tell you that it is the real deal, folks! 

I have been needing glasses with a prescription forever, but I also know that glasses are a hot accessory to pair with any outfit.  When considering an outfit, I always try to find accessories that "make" the outfit.  Who knew that this whole time the biggest accessory has been right under my nose?!?  Or more accurately, right ON my nose!

The difference between the accessory of necklaces and the accessory of glasses is that necklaces compliment the outfit.  "Oh, that looks so cute!"  Glasses compliment the person wearing them.  "YOU look so good wearing those!"

Why not try on a couple pairs while you mull over this revelation???  Firmoo offers virtual try on.  You can upload a picture of yourself and "try" different glasses on before you make your purchase.  Just like in the store but way, way, way more inexpensive!

I have put off getting glasses for years, and, as a result, I haven't worn glasses out in public.  I can't wait to try out my glasses with my different outfits!  With so many different styles for such great prices, I can be whoever I want to be--a vintage movie star, sexy librarian, nerd school teacher, or modern fashionista.  Who will you choose to be?

Right now, Firmoo is offer a first free pair of glasses here.  You will have to pay shipping and handling, but that is like a pair of glasses for ten dollars.  As an accessory item that gets matched with so many different outfits, I don't know how you can get cheaper than that!

Holiday Decorations aren't just for Christmas!

I love holidays!  I love holiday decor!  And I love a good deal!  

I don't have a mantle, so I had my parents help me install a couple shelves in the kitchen and along the length of the hallway.  Now, I have a place to put all my decorations.

I found this banner when I searched for  free valentine printable.  I wanted to do something with burlap, but I didn't have anything in the house, and I didn't want to spend money.  Next best thing--crumpled up brown grocery bag.  I punched holes and strung it together.  It was a super fun project, and I love the way it turned out!

Right underneath my kitchen shelf, I have a black bookcase with these on top.  I found the plate  at the thrift store for 99 cents sitting on top of a plate stand that I also found at the thrift store for a buck.  The candle is wrapped in twine (left over from the fall decorations).  

The heart plate on the left is from my sweet mother.  I made the one on the right at a  pottery place.  Isn't is gorgeous?!?!  

Hanging and Banging outside my door.  It is bright and glittery, and helps my friends find my apartment since I no longer have my rotting pumpkins out there.  

My grandmother saw this last night and commented that it looked like a sampler.  I guess subway art is like a modern day sampler.  There are so many creative people that make these and post them for free online.  All I have to do is print them off!

Love the owls!  I got this and the wreath on clearance last year at Target.  I know it is hard to wait until after the holiday to get the decorations, but, for me, it is so worth it!  If you can't wait, try going to the thrift store.

For my wedding, we used several large vases.  I had pinecones in them for  December and January.  I had popcorn kernels and candles in them for fall.  These flowers were on sale after Christmas.  They look great for Valentine's Day, but they also match my regular kitchen decor!

Bubble Necklace

This is the look I rocked for my friend's bacchelorette party a few weeks ago.  The colored jeans are from New York and Company's clearance rack for $11.  The shirt is from Dillard's New Year's Day sale for $5.  Black Blazer from Target for $15 but definitely worth it because I wear that blazer all the time!  Pink and orange heels $4 from Kohls.  Bubble Necklace and Purse gifted to me from relatives. 

I also got another color necklace that I love just as much.  I paired it with a pair of black slacks and khaki lace shirt.  The necklace definitely makes the outfit!

Orange and Turquoise.  One of my favorite combinations.  I wore this to a casual dinner with my besties.  This is another post about my love for these colors and mixing it up in fashion.  

Make your own Farkle.

My little brother wanted the dice game Farkle for Christmas.  If you haven't played, it is a must!  It is a fun game for just two people or a larger group.  Unfortunately, the game is close to $10 for a jar of dice.  I decided to make the game.  

Here are the directions if you want to rig up your own set.

Materials:

-6 dice (I included a few extra.  I found this in the game aisle at Walmart)

-pen (to keep score)

-notepad ( I used a sticky note pad)

-directions ( I printed them off here. I got and glued them in the cover of the box.)

-container (I used an old check box and cover it with construction paper.)

Directions taped in the top of the box.

Pen, notepad, and dice.

Stocking Stuffer Idea (Siblings don't read!)

 

Last week I posted about our stocking stuffer tradition.  I thought I would post about one of my ideas before Christmas in case anyone was needing last minute ideas of cheap, creative things to fill your loved ones' stockings.  And hopefully, none of my siblings read this post. 

I am sure all of you have seen those cute labels to put on water bottles.  I have used them for a summer party before, and it adds a touch of decorating without having to spend a lot of money.  In fact, all of the water bottle labels I search for our free printables.  How great is that!
 This year, I found Christmas water bottle labels here.



This is a picture from their website because all water bottles are done and wrapped.  SHABAM!
I wish I could find one without Santa, but all of those cost money.  To me, I can argue that this just looks like a Christmas bear.

I also added an individual drink packet to each bottle.  You can pick any flavor in the drink aisle.







Total Cost:
Water Bottle Ten Pack-$2.50
Drink Packs-$1.50
Printable Labels-Free

xoxo,

What is in your stocking?

We started a new tradition last year with my family.  We joke that our tradition is starting traditions.  It was hard to start and maintain traditions growing up because each Christmas looked different than the last.  Sometimes, my dad would have to work in the morning.  Sometimes, he would work in the afternoon, and sometimes not at all.  Sometimes, we would spend Christmas in Michigan. 

Besides our tradition of ornaments, we didn't really have a set tradition.  Not to say though, that we did not create wonderful memories every year--they were just different.

Because of work schedules and other familial obligations, it is also hard for all of us to be together on Christmas.  So, we created some new traditions with my family, and I love them!

First, we swap names and buy for only one person.  Mom and Dad are out though because they buy for everyone, and everyone buys for them.  Mom usually knows what everyone wants because we have told her.  This helps keeps the cost of buying presents down.  It is difficult to buy for so many people, especially when gifts should not be the focus. 

Secondly, we started a stocking gift.  For me, it is always so fun to open the small gifts.  Each person comes up with the same gift to give each person.  Total for every person, your gift should not exceed 5 dollars.  This requires quite a bit of thought and planning the year before.  Sometimes, you may have to stock up on an item on sale.  Last year some gift ideas included: pack of gum, chapstick, toothbrush, pictures, candles, hand warmers.  I did Snow Man poop (white tic tacs with a cute little poem that I found on Pinterest) and Brown Sugar Body Scrub (yum! and it makes your hands and legs feel great!)

I think I slightly exceeded the limit last year by a few dollars, but this year I def stayed in budget.  I will be posted those projects later.  I don't want to give them away just yet!

xoxo,
Angela

Leopard Dress with Belt

I love this dress!  I bought it from Express for $20.  Again, not a store I normally shop at, but the clearance can be nice at these places, too.

The blue belt is from New York and Company for $3.  

The earrings I got from Dillards for $5.  

I could have paired this up with heels or my boots, but at this point during the week of Parent Conferences I was ready for flats and stretchy pants.  

I put the belt around my smallest part of my body per What Not To Wear advice.

I am also digging my hair in this picture.  Nice big poof with a side french braid.  The braid is small because I cannot keep my hands in my hair that long.  I mean, my arms are killing me.  Anyone else have this problem?

Hot pants

Hot and dangerousIf you're one of us then roll with us'Cause we make the hipsters fall in loveWhen we got our hot pants on and up

My mother-in-law came last weekend, and she had these super cute red jeans.  I was like I want some colored jeans.  I had tried on a pair at Old Navy that totally did not fit, and I kinda ruled colored jeans out.  I found this pair on the clearance rack at New York and Company for ten dollars, ten dollars people!

I paired it with another shirt that I got at The Limited.  I don't normally shop at that store because it is too expensive for me, but I found this shirt on the clearance rack for 10 bucks.

I like the shirt because it has lace detail, but it doesn't take away from the colored pants.  I paired the outfit with my $5 dollar Steve Madden wedges.

I like this outfit so much I wore it twice last week.  Thankfully, I didn't see any of the same people:)

Have you jumped on the fashion bandwagon of colored jeans?  What do you pair them with?

Mix and Match

I am still working on taking pictures of myself.  Clearly, I am a newbie, but show me some love for my effort:)

I was trying to branch out on this outfit.  I have stripes on my skirt, pink polka dots on my shirt, and green shoes.  Woah!  Somehow, though I think this works.

 I bought the blazer a couple years ago, following Clint and Stacey's What Not to Wear advice.  However, I have struggled feeling comfortable wearing it because it is not my norm.  In this outfit, I feel like it helped pull it all together.

I wore my blazer for Meet the Teacher night as well.  For some reason, my principal thinks we all have to wear jeans and a tshirt the first time we make an impression on our parents and students.  I don't agree with that, so I put this blazer over the tshirt and wore heels with my jeans.  I think it helped me stand out a bit more and definitely was much more authoritative and professional.

Black Blazer: Target $20
Pink Polka Dotted Sleeveless Top:  New York and Company $8
Striped Skirt: Target $10
Green Shoes: Twice as Nice (Thrift store in Denton) $9

Any advice on how to take good pictures of oneself?  I might need to invest in a full length mirror.

It feels like fall!

*UPDATE: I forgot to post this a few weeks ago, but now that it is starting to feel like fall again, I decided I would let you in on my fall obsession.

 

As I have mentioned before, I love holiday decorations.  Love, love, love.  As you probably also know,  I love, love, love a sale.  This last week, we got a cold front, and I could no longer resist the urge to decorate.  Out comes the fall stuff:)))

 Outside my classroom:

 By my window, the leaves coordinate so well with my curtains.

 I also stopped by school on Saturday and realized that I have lots of decorations up there, too.  I get to decorate two places.  Be jealous!

Scarecrow in my fish water.  Hopefully nothing nasty happens.  On a side note, the fish are still alive, and the students love them!

Frugal Fashion

I love clothes! But I also love a good deal, and I  know how to find them!  I never understand why people pay full price for clothes, accessories, or shoes.  They just aren't worth it.  If the clothes were worth the price that they were originally marked, then they would never go on sale.  The outfit right here is a dress with a high waisted belt (What Not To Wear tip), the ruffles add a bit of fun texture, the colors are fun and pop, the skirt portion of the dress if fitted like a pencil skirt and show off my curves in a good way.  The shoes are surprisingly comfy.  Pretty much like a wedge.  My mom say this the other day at TJ Maxx.  For $5, how could I pass this up?  In years past, I would not have paired polka dots and floral, but it totally worked.  Plus, the shoes are so fun, and I got a lot of compliments at work.  

This was another outfit I wore to work.  My friends Alice and Michelle had recommended a thrift store in Highland Village.  It's like Plato's Closet for adults.  Check them out! http://www.clothesmentor.com/  This super cute sweater was only $6!  And for those of you that care, all the clothes at the place are name brand.  The necklace I got a while ago and can't remember where, but I am sure it was on sale, too.  The white tank has small stitching detail on the top.  I got it from Ann Taylor Loft clearance rack a few years ago.  Now, the Sperrys...These do not fit into my normal purchases as they are much more expensive than I normally like to spend.  Poor Anthony has endured my pining over these for the last three year, if not longer.  These shoes would not go on sale, doggoneit!  I finally bit the bullet and purchased them.  I like them because they go with almost anything.  I can wear them with shorts, pants, casual skirts.  I would like to say that I love them, but sometimes they rub against my toes and heels:(  Does this happen to anyone else?  I have tried those dumb footy socks, too, and they won't stay on my feet.  

If you are willing to spend the time looking through sale racks, you will find great deals.  Sometimes if I like something a lot, but don't love the price, I will return to the store a few weeks later to find it on the sale rack.  Score!

Where do you find your best deals?