6.5.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Happy Friday! (Do I say 'Happy (insert day)!' way too much?!)
I'm sick again, well the whole family is sick again with a yucky cold. Bummer! Looking forward to the weekend and a little relaxation. On to my top five favorite little things from this past week. 

1. My husband and I finally attempted to make our own headboard over the weekend using a few tutorials we saw online and I'm happy to say it came our pretty darn good! It ended up costing us a bit more than we thought the supplies would cost but end the end it cost under $65. Here is a little sneak peak, I'm working on a post with a step by step on how we did it.

2.  We had breakfast at Keke's again and can I just say that every time I have gone (and tried something new) I have not been disappointed! This time it was the Eggs Portabella (poached eggs) with portabella mushroom, roasted red peppers and home fries. *drooling*

3. After hearing about the Target Beauty box for Spring after the fact (it was no longer available when I heard about it), I was able to place an order for the Summer Beauty Box and I can't wait for it to arrive! Thank you Brenda over at Chatting Over Chocolate for sharing that it was live! Can't wait for it to arrive.

4. Last night my son was begging to go outside to play with the neighborhood kids. I was feeling pretty crappy but after his convincing that he hadn't been outside allllll day, I said 'yes' and mustered up the energy to take him out for a few. He responded back with an enthusiastic "Thanks mom, you're the best!" and it was worth it! <3

5. Um...it's Friday! Some weeks I just think that Friday deserves to be on the list.

How was your week? Staying healthy or is your household coming down with a bug, too? 

Summer Sandals:The Backless Thong Sandal

I've wanted a pair of flip flops or backless sandals but I can be so picky about how they look, fit and what all they would look good with. When I saw these t-strap thing sandals over on Jackie at Sweetie Pie Style, I knew these would be the ones I went on the hunt for. The style is simple but really cute, the color goes with anything and I can see them being super casual with jean shorts and a t-shirt or dressed up more in a fun summer dress.

I LOVE the Joie sandals but they are way out of my price range so when I found these at Target for $20, I thought I had found the ones. Sad to say that when I tried them on and walked around, they literally just started to slide right off my feet. *sad face*

Target   // Joie 

So, I thought I would round up a few other budget options to share in case you are on the hunt for similar sandals for the summer.Now, let's just hope I don't run across the same issue with all of the brands that carry this same style!

1.Seychelles $17.99

2. Sperry Top-Sider $27.75

3. Naya Cresent $24.97

4. Circus by Sam Edelman $29.96

5. Arturo Chiang $41.99

Finding a style similar to the Target ones (under $50) was really difficult! Do you have any shoes that are similar on your wishlist? Please share!

5.29.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! Hope everyone had a great week. 

I'm kind of looking forward to doing a little grocery shopping tonight, is that strange?! 

And then I don't have any solid plans for the rest of the weekend so we'll see how things play out.

Here are some of my favorite things from this past week. 

1. Well, hello! First things first. How about that long holiday weekend?!  I actually ended up with a 4-day weekend. Our team reached a sales goal which earned us an additional day off. It was so nice but as always, went by way too fast.

2. My brother and his fiance are having a Great Gatsby/1920's themed wedding and my daughter is going to be the flower girl. My mother-in-law offered to make her a dress and while we were out looking for fabric and patterns we decided to take a quick look next door in Marshalls. And OMG we found the dress! Is this not perfect?! It was $15 and is by Max Studio.

3. The chair at Target that I have kept an eye on (because how could I not notice the beautiful print every time I walked by it in Target) was spotted on clearance this weekend! Originally $179 and I got it for $76. Whoop, whoop!

4. On Sunday we went to the downtown farmer's market to check out the surrounding re-sale shops. This led to some new purchases for our living room, which led to a trip to Ross, which led to this small living room update. You can check it out here if you missed it.

5. We had a relaxing Memorial Day over out my husband's parents house. The kids got to play in the blow-up pool, we ate ice cream and root beer floats and enjoyed a delicious BBQ dinner. Perfect!

How did this past week treat you?

Home Decor: Giving an Empty Corner Some Love

Sorry for the radio silence around here! I've been trying to avoid having to say that...but I know I'm breaking blogging rule #1. Blog consistently! I was doing a great job there for a while and then life just started to interrupt. And what it all boiled down to was that I have to take care of life first and then I can do some blogging. Honestly, I have to think that way in order to not go CRAZY!
Here's to hoping I can get a bit more consistent again!

So, I have had a corner of our living room that has remained bare. It really needed a little love and this past weekend...it finally happened!
It all started when I walked by this chair and saw that it was on clearance! I have seen it a few times in Target and always thought the pattern was so pretty. (But at the original price of $179.99...it was not going to happen.) The chair was marked at $89, I used a $10 Target Home coupon and my Target debit card. I walked out of the store paying $76 plus tax for this chair!

Target Threshold Chair

The following day we decided to swing by Ross to see if we could find a little side table.
We found this one which was exactly what I had in mind. A small, metal cut-out side table.
 It was marked down to $27.99.

The ballerina statue was another find this weekend from a re-sale shop downtown for $10.

I decided I also wanted to add a basket for our blankets to make the area fill a little cozier.
This basket was our other Ross find, on clearance for $13.99. At first I was thinking a big wicker basket but I loved the details on this one! It's metal with a canvas insert and thick rope handles.

The horse bookends were yet another find from a re-sale shop downtown this past weekend, $30 for the pair.

Here is how it all looks together.  Just a few things made a big difference in the feel of the entire living room! This was just what it needed. The total on everything for this corner was $128 plus tax. Under the original price of the chair!

Ross Side Table: similar, similar
Threshold Chair: Target
Ross Basket: similar, similar
Ballerina Stature: similar
Horse Bookends (from above): similar

Have you done any small home updates recently? Score any great deals on furniture?
I'm trying to convince my husband that our next project is making over an old dresser.

Shopping Haul: Target, Old Navy, J.C Penney + Macys

Good Morning! Hope you are making it through the week. :)

I've done a little bit of clothes shopping over the past few weeks. I've had some things on my wishlist and there just so happened to be some great deals and coupons out there. And you know with Memorial Day coming up there will be only more temptation to snag some more things from my existing wishlist!
So, sharing my recent finds and deals here today!

Macy's

Shirt $12.74 (Orig. $24)  // Tommy Hilfiger Shorts (similar) $16 (Orig. $50 ) 

Purchased during the Friends and Family sale, so this was with an extra 24% off the marked price.

Shirt $12.74 (Orig. $24) // (same shorts)

Old Navy

Dress $19.95 (Orig. $24.94)

This dress was under $15 online but not that price in-store. They would not price match. Bummer!

J.C Penney

Waikiki Shirt $1.99 (Orig. $14) // LA Shirt $1.99 (Orig. $14) 

Used a $10 of $10 purchase coupon with this purchase.

Target
Shorts $15 (Orig. $19.99)// Dress $5 (Orig. $19.99)
Apparel was Buy One Get One half off. I also used a $5 off $25 apparel purchase coupon.

Have shopped any sales lately? Which stores had the best sales and finds?

5 Ways I Stacked Savings at Target

I did a quick Target trip over the weekend and it was the perfect opportunity to show you how every little penny counts. I was able to use 5 different resources to stack the savings on my small trip. 

And although some savings may seem so small, they all add up!

Here is what I grabbed at Target on my recent trip:

This was a quick trip for necessities so I wasn't stocking up on some great sales or using a bunch of coupons. Here is how I managed to stack my savings without that.

1. Printable Coupon: Used a $4 printable coupon for Rachel Ray dog food from here.

2. Target Cartwheel: I have the Target Cartwheel app on my phone, so I scanned all of my items to see if there were any Cartwheel offers for them. I ended up with 5% off the diapers, eggs, cheese and milk. The total savings was $.84.

3. Target RedCard: When checking out, I used my Target RedCard (the debit card version) to save an extra 5% off my total order. The total savings was $1.32.

4. Ibotta App: When I got home, I pulled up the Ibotta app I have downloaded on my phone to check for any rebates that matched what I purchased. As you can see below I submitted for a total of $1.10 cash back for the bread, cheese, bananas and milk.

5. Checkout 51 App: I also have another app called Checkout 51 on my phone that offers cash rebates for purchases. I checked it out and was able to submit for $.75 cash back on the eggs and bananas.

So there you have it! By using those 5 steps I was able to save a grand total of $8.01.
Now, the Ibotta app requires you to have $10 in your account before you can transfer money to a Pay Pal account. I currently have $11.60 (with a lifetime savings so far of $21.85). The Checkout 51 app let's you request a check when you have $20 in your account. I currently have $5.50. So these are not immediate savings but they absolutely add up!

What do you think? Seem easy or feel like too much work?
Any questions I can answer?

5.15.15 // High Five for {the little things} Friday!

Hey kids, hope you had a great week!
We had a few fun plans this past week/weekend and now I'm looking forward to this next weekend, per usual. I get to head to Tampa on Sunday to visit with my mom and then a dentist appointment on Monday with the kiddos. Hope that goes well!
Alright, it's time for my top five highlights from this past week.

1. I actually got to do some shopping by myself this past Friday and Saturday. That's pretty amazing! I love shopping with my family but sometimes it's nice to go out, take your time, browse and not worry about anyone else being bored!

2. I FINALLY got a chance to try the new S'mores Frappucino at Starbucks. It was tasty but it was so much like dessert, I don't think I would order it again. At least I got to try it!

3. We attended a joint 2nd and 4th birthday party at a local citrus farm over the weekend. The theme was Peppa Pig and the mom did such a great job decorating! She runs a business called Tici's Treats (if you're in the Central Florida area, check her out!) and she does such a great job creating tablescapes of her delicious and adorable treats. We got to take a 'monster truck' ride through the farm to see the land and animals and it was lots of fun!

4. I made some delicious, healthy blueberry muffins. I have been wanting to make either pie or muffins with the blueberries we picked a few weeks ago and just got around to doing it. I used this recipe from Everyday Family. It uses Greek yogurt, applesauce, oats and whole wheat flour. The only thing I didn't have on hand was plain Greek yogurt so I improvised and used a cup of Chobani 100 Peach Greek Yogurt. Delish!

5. My Mother's Day gift to my mom and mother-in-law was a night out for Paint Nite! I wanted to do something different and enjoy a night out with them instead of giving an actual gift . This turned out to be so much fun!  We painted cute little giraffes as you can see from the photo. I highly recommend giving a paint night a try if you have never done it before. They have deals for these types of things on Groupon all the time.

So, how was your week?!