I know, I know. I failed my grateful-post-a-day challenge pretty miserably. But, it was really nice to not blog for a few days, so I'm not very apologetic. I really enjoyed the break! And I had a really good reason: my sister-in-law! She arrived Thursday evening and stayed through Sunday morning.
It's amazing how fast time flies when you're shopping! Andrea and I were both in a shopping mood, and looking forward to Christmas, so first thing Friday morning we went to Target and Michaels. I was a bit surprised to find the fall decor already on clearance, considering that Thanksgiving was still two weeks away. But it was lucky for me, since I found these candles for $2.
Not letting anything go to waste, I re-purposed the decoration on the candle's packaging.
I'd been wanting this little organizer for awhile, and I got it on clearance for $5.
I also got a cardigan for $5. It's all champagne colored lace, and really pretty. So then it was on to Michaels. I found some fall sprigs on clearance, and used them around my apartment.
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| The tall green grass is from the dollar store, and the bike you might remember from my Goodwill finds. The orange branches and the flowers in the basket are from Michaels. |
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| This is a terrible picture, but I was in a hurry. The red filler, candle, and candle holder I got at the dollar store. for $1 each. The green bottle I found in the tailgating fields at Iowa State University. |
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| Over the fireplace, I put the sprig from Michaels in the background, kind of like a mini fall tree. I really need to get some pictures in those frames! The fabric leaves are from the dollar store, $1 for a bag full of them. |
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| Some of the flowers came from Michaels, some from the dollar store. The potpourri in the bowl is from the dollar store, and it's mixed in with more of the fabric leaves. |
Then we discovered Arizona Mills Outlet Mall. I've never been to an outlet mall like it. It had all the mainstream stores, but outlets! It was pretty much awesome. I had a very hard time resisting the urge to break the commitment I made in my last post when we went to the Vans outlet, let me tell you! We found adorable pea coats at JCPennys for as low as $18. There's a jacket there that's still calling my name. Sometimes I resist buying something because I'm afraid I'll find something better later and regret it, and then I end up wishing I had!
Brian took us to the Westgate City Center, and we walked around there for awhile Saturday. Other than shopping, we ate at Bucca Di Beppo, which was ridiculously good, especially the salad. And we saw "Inception" at the $2 theater. If you haven't seen it, it's a pretty interesting movie. It was a little confusing sometimes, but I thought it was very thought-provoking and creative. We also watched the first Harry Potter movie; Brian and I had never seen it before. I expected it to be really dark, and was surprised to find it actually charming! Yes, I think that word fits. Especially for Ron, he's my favorite.
And Andrea introduced me to Trader Joe's. We made pumpkin pancakes with a mix we bought there, and I found a recipe for pumpkin spice lattes online.
The lattes were pretty good until you got to the bottom, and then it was all thick and chunky because of the pumpkin.
Oh yes, did I mention I'm in a Christmas-y mood?
I can't wait to get started on my wreath! I will wait until after Thanksgiving to hang it though, don't worry. But see what's off to the right side there? A glue gun! Just think of all I can do with a glue gun! I will be an unstoppable crafter! And it only cost $3.
It's taken me almost 3 days to get this post finished, so there you are! That's where I've been lately. Are you getting into the Christmas spirit yet?
Labels: Decor, Gratitude
