Dora, Friends, Babies, & Ebay

I love spring, spending time with family & friends, & good deals! :)

Ava helped me make brownies for our guests last weekend. She loved it!

Davis-Kidd Booksellers had "Breakfast with Dora." It was fun; after breakfast, a lady read a Dora book to the children, then they worked on crafts until Dora could make it around to each table to take pictures & autograph & give out balloons. Ava said, "Mommy, I want to hug Dora." Too cute!

Our friends from Alabama, Lonnie & Nicole, spent the weekend with us. Ron has been friends with them all of his life. He remembers playing GI Joe under the church pews at his dad's church:) We took them to Texas de Brazil- wow, incredible food! Then we walked around downtown Memphis for a little while before heading home to watch Kung Fu Panda.

Below is the "housewarming party" invitation for Brittany & Job...I think her friend, Angie, likes polka dots as much as we do!

I need to get some pictures of the inside of their house. It seriously looks like they've lived there for much longer than a few weeks. Everyone has worked hard to get them settled in. It does blow my mind when I think about what the interior looked like a month ago!

Here' s my mom (Mimi) and Ava at the party. My mom is the BEST!!! My cousin, Tracey, brought her the pink poms & she didn't put them down all night.

Some of Job's family at the party:

My gorgeous sister (who apparently is the only one who knew I was taking a picture! ha) & our dad & Tracey.

Here's Christie, one of my best friends since 4th grade, with Ava.

I had to work of course before the party, and Brittany called & was rushing me which is nothing new- we always want each other to be early if we're having something at our homes...Then she was a bit irritated that my parents are always late. I was thinking, "What's new? Don't worry about it." Then I was upstairs trying to fix Ava's hair when Britt insisted that I come down stairs & help her with punch...kinda weird. Then she said, "I know we talked about how Ava has too many toys, but I got her a little something." Again, nothing new. I saw that it was an Etch A Sketch--Britt likes getting Ava classic toys (like Mr. Potato Head). Anyway, she said, "Let your Momma help you open that." I noticed that it had already been 'sketched' on...Here's what it said:

I read it twice. Showed it to our mom and then got SUPER EXCITED BECAUSE I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT AND AVA'S GOING TO HAVE A COUSIN CLOSE TO HER AGE TO PLAY WITH AND I'M GONNA SPOIL THAT BABY!!!!! :)
Later, when more friends & family arrived, Job prayed over our food- at the end he talked about the extra space for the new baby! Everyone went crazy! Tuesday, March 23 was a great day!

And last but not least, I got a fabulous deal on curtains for my living room! I've been eying these at Pier 1 for a few years & hadn't made a decision (not sure why picking out curtains is hard for me). For the 96-in length in the store, they were $49.95/panel, & I needed two. I found them on ebay and paid $32 total--including the shipping for 2 brand new, in the package panels! What a deal!!

Spring Break Part II

Oh my goodness! I cleaned, organized, & re-decorated so much this week that I am sore! Aside from home stuff, I took Ava to see Dora, visited with my aunt, sister, brother-in-law, two of my high school friends, and our friends from Alabama. I have had a wonderful week away from the stresses of teaching!! If you looked at my "Spring Break Part I," you know that I have been BUSY!

Here's some things in my kitchen...
I love all of my colorful printed hand towels except they don't really dry well. I just use them for decorations.

I redecorated the top of my 'fridge. The super cute polka dotted invitation is for my sister & bro-in-law's housewarming party! More about that later this week.

chalkboard/back splash

I added this plate and red towel (love the Better Homes & Garden line at Wal-Mart) to my master bathroom to help it 'flow' with my new red curtains.

My sweet hubby gave me these curtains for Valentines Day- I love them! They're from Pottery Barn, but he ordered them from eBay which means half the price for these! Well, I really like them against my blue walls, but my comforter was white....I tried dying all my bedding in tea. Wow, what a mess! I'll try anything once though. I did find this queen-size duvet cover at Goodwill for less than $10. My friend, Jamie, gave me these lamps last week because she bought new ones- yay!

The great room- I re-hung a few things in here, painted the coffee table from cream to orange (left-over from my dining room: Sherwin-Williams Foxy) and distressed it a bit. I love it! The room really needed some more color!

re-decorated this table...changed lamps...

front door decor
not finished with it...

I love fresh flowers!

temporary dining room table centerpiece

My "new" buffet!! This dresser was my great-aunts, then my parents, then mine, then Ava's changing table, and now it's a buffet. I painted it Sherwin-Williams Watery (I borrowed it from Brittany- she painted her master bedroom this color). I bought the value package of pulls from Target.

I hung plates over my window- all yard sale & Goodwill finds. I brought in the rug from my bedroom. Remember, I am planning to recover these chairs & have curtains made, but I'm really proud that the dining room looks like a room now! We've lived here for two years, and I'm just now getting it looking homey in this area.

Hearth room/Breakfast area

Ava's big girl room update:

I changed the pulls on this chest of drawers.

Ava's twin bed- I picked up this piece of fence from a dumpster over a year ago. It works now for her headboard. I got the shabby chic sheets from Target and the comforter from eBay.

Ava's bathroom:

Guest room/Ava's library:)

Remember my list? Well, I have marked off all but 5 items!

Happy Spring.

Brooke's Bargains 16

WHOOO HOOO! Yard sale season is back in full swing! :)
Poor Brittany is sick, and she worked really late last night so she stayed home this morning. Ron's (and now mine) great friends from Alabama are here for the weekend, so Nicole & I hit the sales together! The weather was great too.

I took a pic of a few of Nicole's great finds- she bought this trunk, brand-new children's Sperry's, garden flag, and Vera Bradley wallet, checkbook cover, & bag for the grand total of $20.50.

I got this vest, Old Navy hooded coat, black turtleneck for Britt, & orange tank top for $10.

Vera Bradley glasses case, 5 books, 7 boxes of greeting cards, and DVD for $8.

For my house: fall decor, large glass bowl, antique suitcase, & candles=$13

For Ava: winter coat with matching mittens, another pair of mittens, knit hat, shoes, fleece pants & hoodie, and a sweater=$8

Here's Ava & Nicole checking out the loot:)

Haven's Spring Cleaning Tips

My great friend, Haven, from Enraptured with Love & Projects posted this last week. I thought it was very motivating, so I copied it for y'all. :)

Oh it is that time again. I know most people probably have plans for Spring Break, but I just can't wait to get some spring cleaning done. It just makes me feel so much better knowing that everyting is clean and organized! Here are some tips that help my sanity!

Organizational Tips

I love to organize! It just makes my life more peaceful. Even better, is to help organize someone else. I blame my mother. You see, after a long nice week at Camp Garawya in Clinton, MS, I often came home to everything I owned being on top of my bed. My mother would simply look at me and say “Organize it.” Which I did, however, I have tried to figure out why the rest of my sisters never had to enjoy this activity. I guess my mother thought as long as she had one daughter who could do this, it would be fine. I guess it did work out, because I would often help my sisters organize their bedroom, pack for trips, etc. Then I got smart, and try to leave a list for them to do. I get lots of eye-rolling from them. I am also glad that my husband is like me and likes to keep things nice and tidy. Bliss, I tell you!

Organizing closets, drawers, rooms, etc, etc, etc.

• About once a season, I organize about every closet, drawer, etc. in my house. I have to tell myself to throw it away or that someone needs it worse than you, so I give it to goodwill. (I get my pack-ratness honestly; therefore, I do have to force myself).

• Start in a room, put the timer on if you must (I don’t), and clean out as much as you can. I work until I am satisfied. Start on a different room next time.

• Have a box for goodwill and one for “iffy” (what you want to keep, but don’t know IF you need to. Have someone go through that box with you to help decide.) Put other items away.

Find more space

• Draw out your house, kitchen, bathroom,or other rooms. Draw all the storage space down to the drawer, label what you would like to put in there. Make it happen.

• Organize according to how you live – dog lease by the door, silverware by the stove, glasses by the dishwasher, etc.

• Define space. Put linens in one closet for easier access.

• Find space in your house to create more storage. Add shelves to the sides of a closet on the bottom part for more room. Look around your house and just think of what you can use – baskets, and empty draw (very few of these at my house), or recreate or combine items in a specific place.

Lists

• Keep a notebook in the kitchen and write down grocery lists, store lists, and other important reminders.

• Plan a day in the week/weekend that you can shop.

Meal Planning and Couponing

• I select about 8 recipes a month to actually cook and then buy some quick foods such as pizza, chicken strips, Voila meals (we cook for two, so depending on your family, you may need more recipes).

• I think about all that we have going on that month, and may even sketch out when we will have certain meals.

• I try to do my big shopping once a month. I still have to go and get milk and creamer about once a week.

• Once I have my recipes, I plan my grocery lists, go to www.southernsavers.com, and see which store has the best deals for what I need. This is usually Kroger.

• I organize my coupons according to what I need and put them at the front of my coupon organizer. These are also organized in the sections that they match – grocery, frozen, meat, dairy, etc. (So I am a nerd. My great husband bought me the organizer probably as an encourager to save money.)

• Once I find the item, I put the coupon in my pocket so I will have all of them ready at check out.

• Here lately, I have been cooking several meals a night for the week. This really helps when you are tired and all you have to do is put it in the oven! If I can divide them into two meals, I freeze one for later. We are trying to watch our portion size, so this really helps us.

Other Helpful Tips

• Keep laundry sorted during the week. It takes no time to match colors, so that when it is laundry day, you know exactly what to throw in the wash.

• Get as much ready for the week the night before or the beginning of the week. Most of the time on Sundays, I choose 5 outfits for the next week. (Yes, I am a dork, but I am also really late to everything, so this helps me)

• Fix your lunch as much as possible the night before and put it in your lunch bag.

• Fix your coffee, water, gym bag, etc the night before. It will really save time in the morning!


Don’t stress yourself about being organized. Just do the best you can and enjoy life!

Cleaning Tips

• Keep laundry sorted during the week. It takes no time to match colors, so that when it is laundry day, you know exactly what to throw in the wash.

• It helps me to select a day to do certain tasks. Thursday is my cleaning day. I make sure that I have a quick meal to fix so that I can clean my house. I don’t want to do any of this on the weekends! It works for me.

• I make my own cleaner – ½ vinegar ½ water and lemon juice. This can be used to clean the kitchen, bathrooms, and I recently learned, mirrors. It is wonderful to have one cleaner to do all of this.

• Listen to music as you clean. Growing up, it was the BeeGees (we had a record player). Music makes cleaning have a nice fun flow about it!

• Have a routine. Even though I know it is probably better to vacuum first so that you don’t have to dust twice, I like to vacuum last because that is a chore to me. Unless, my husband does it for me, which he usually does.

• Routine: Mirrors, bathrooms, kitchen, dust, vacuum, sweep and mop.

• About once every 6 month, I clean windows, window jams, baseboards, walls, etc. Normally I do this in the spring and fall.

• Make sure you reward yourself for a job well done! This could be collapsing on the couch, blogging, or doing a fun craft project. Normally this means collapsing on the couch and watching a movie or going through the many seasons of 24.

Happy cleaning and organizing!

Spring Break Part I

Happy Spring Break, My Teacher Friends!

First of all, I can't believe I'm posting these pictures; however, it will make my work this week more understandable! I'm on SPRING BREAK from teaching! It's a great feeling!! Here's a typical day in the life of me:
5:30- Rise & Shine
7:00- Leave home & take Ava to Mimi & Papa's house
7:30-3:15 Teach 11th grade U.S. History
3:30- Pick up Ava, visit with my parents
4:15- Gym (Ava loves the nursery)
5:15-8:00- Grocery store/home/bathe Ava/play with Ava/cook supper/attempt to clean house/laundry/dishes...
8:00- Ron comes home from work
8:00-10:00- We visit, eat supper, catch up on a recorded show. Bed!
I also teach 4 classes at the local community college and have to squeeze in the grading papers, phone calls, emails, and lesson planning whenever possible! Teaching is rewarding, but it is a constant job & certainly one that comes home with me often! I definitely look forward to each break & have a 'to do' list for each break...
And if it weren't enough encouragement to do it for me, we have 'outatown' guests arriving next weekend who've never been to our new house! Talk about motivation to get moving around here! For me though, I usually work well under pressure.

Do you have a hard time knowing what to put in containers and vases and pieces of pottery sometimes? I do. I'll look in stores and often don't buy anything. Today, I decided to get some items at House to Home (a great discounted home decor store in Southaven, MS). I bought all of this for less than $50, this stuff can add up quickly. I know it'll improve several rooms though.

I'm transitioning Ava's room to a big girl room this week. Ron & I moved her crib to the attic last week and just put a twin mattress on her floor to get her adjusted. I found a comforter on eBay and sheets at Target, so I just have to get in there and clean and decorate. I'm excited!

Here's our guestroom where Ron & I have been sleeping for about 2-3 weeks while I've been redecorating our room (code for there's laundry covering our bed, and I've been extremely busy!:).

And here's the laundry room, I mean master bedroom that will be spotless and pretty very soon...

Also, I've moved Ava's dresser to the dining room, and it'll will get a new coat of paint and pulls this week = buffet! We also rearranged and added a rug from our bedroom.

I'm pretty sure my sister is laughing at me right now because she knows that no matter how horrible everything looks now, by Friday night when our Alabama friends arrive, it'll be as clean & organized as can be!!! Ha!