Friday, December 30, 2016

Last haul of the year

I've been wanting to go to Hobby Lobby since Tuesday, yesterday they sent me an email saying 80% off of Christmas, so I thought I'd check out what they have left. Plus, even though it's after Christmas, I still want to make another Christmas flipbook.
Here's what I picked up:
 robots, pinwheel, sticky notes, foam letters, card file kit, Project Life cards, chickadee ornament, poinsettias
I love robots. I picked up the pinwheel, cause I'm pretty sure the sign said spring 50%, but it still rang up full price (it was only $1). I picked up the sticky notes for a swap. I will never say no to letters, I can still use them. I love the vintage look of this card file kit. I've been wanting these PL cards since I saw them come out, they were marked down to $3.00, so I bought the last two there. I picked up the bird ornament for a friend, I can't decide if I want to give it to her now, or hope I don't lose it before next Christmas. I liked the poinsettias.
Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's are in the same strip, so I thought I'd see what they had left:
 gloves, bag, tags, stickers
I love these gloves, don't know why I loved the yellow this time around. I picked up the bag to put the bird ornament in. You can't go wrong with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, plus I don't have to use them for Christmas. I love these sticker books, most of this one didn't have to be used for Christmas, I'm in a swap to create a winter pocket letter, and these will work for that.
Next up was the Asian food store, I haven't been there in awhile:
I can't tell what most things are in there because it's in Asian, but I usually just go with the pictures. I'm not entirely sure what these are.
Strawberry flavored corn snacks, love these. Strawberry rolls, these are sponge cake with strawberry frosting like filling. Hard candies, I've only tried one and it tasted kinda like grapefruit. Suckers, haven't tried these yet, but the pictures on the package are of strawberry/milk and peach/milk. Bayberry with honey, these looked interesting, sadly they were not good. Green tea mochi, I love mochi, and I love green tea.
Last stop was a local gift shop. I love their stuff. Having all the big stores put their Christmas stuff on wicked sale makes me spoiled, so then when I go to the regular stores I'm a little bummed they're only at 50%, I still found some stuff:
I only got 2 owls for Christmas and they were in a swap, so I picked up a couple more. The felt one was $2.50, the wooden one $2. The star is glass, it's so much more beautiful than the picture lets on, it was $5.25, the pumpkin was in their sale basement, I've been very drawn to fall stuff lately, it was $0.50.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Chocolate

Hi All, here's what I received for Christmas. My friend gave me a bag full of goodies on Christmas Eve and I couldn't wait until Christmas to open it, so I opened it that day:
 Here's what was inside:
 chocorooms, lychee candy, sandwich cookies, a robot, toy from Zootopia.
The weather has been mild, this is what our Christmas looked like:
 We actually had a rainstorm, complete with thunder and lightning, a big change from regular Iowa weather.
Here's what I got for Christmas:
 My brother got me two mugs, one is of banned books, when you put hot liquid in it, the crossed out titles appear, the other looks like a library check-out card. He also picked up Hunger Games: Mockingjay part II. My parents bought everything else in the picture. Ames is home to Iowa State University, and I have a collection of ISU snowmen. The rectangle on the bottom is actually a print of a paper cutting celebrating Ames' 150th anniversary from a couple years ago.
More presents:
 A couple pairs of black pants, fleece leggings, socks, printer ink, charging station.
Today, I went after Christmas shopping. I haven't been shopping in a month, I was really proud of myself, so a friend and I went to check out the after Christmas sales. I was surprised how picked over everything was. I feel the stores are speeding up the time lines.
Dollar Tree:
 stickers, measuring cup, tape, hooks
I picked up some emoji stickers, some of those vintage looking stickers and some alpha stickers. I misplaced my liquid measuring cup during the move. I saw this duct tape on The Messy Mom's life, it looks like someone was doodling on their notebook paper. My landlord would prefer I use these hooks instead of putting holes in my wall. I found some of the washi tape, my store rarely has it. There were other patterns, too, but I didn't think I'd use them.
Target:
 beef stick, chocolate, gummies
The beef stick was on clearance. Candy is only 30% off at Target, so I didn't save a ton of money, but I didn't get any chocolate for Christmas, so I bought my own, plus I got a few Target gift cards, so I didn't really spend any money.
More Target:
 stickers, sticky notes, stamps, tape, ornaments, toothbrush heads.
My dollar spot had Valentine's out, so I picked up the emoji stickers, the sticky notes, the cactus sticky notes, the alpha stamps, the felt stickers, and the rolls of washi. I love emojis, there were quite a few sets of the sticky notes, but I really liked the SuperHero girls one. I'd also seen someone haul the cactus sticky notes, and you get 100 for $1, so why not. I never seem to have enough alpha stickers so I thought picking up these stamps might help me with that issue, I haven't looked at them so I don't know about the quality of them. I love these felt stickers they are of sweet treats. I saw the holographic tape set, it was $1, and the other one is emojis on red background. I wanted the pizza ornament when it first came out, but didn't feel like paying $3, I got it for 50% off. I also loved the Raphael ornament, he's my favorite Turtle. The most expensive thing I bought today was the replacement toothbrush heads. I also needed razor blades, but they are wicked expensive. Why do these things have to cost so much?
Walmart:
The tape, ornament, chocolate, tags and wreath hanger were on sale. More alphas, Home Alone, packing tape, ornament, chocolate, tags, wreath hanger, coasters.
I already had Home Alone 2, but not the first one. I always need more packing tape. I picked up the ornament and tags for my brother. When I buy after Christmas stuff, I just pack it up with my winter decorations so I don't lose it during the year. The chocolate was 50 cents, plus it was cute. Since my landlord doesn't want me to put holes in my walls, I thought I'd pick up the wreath hanger to hang things on my door. I picked up these coasters for my co-worker.

I really wanted to go to Hobby Lobby, too, but I don't need anything at Hobby Lobby (not that I really needed the other stuff either), but I want to see what's left, I really want to check out the clearance section.

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Christmas questions

I was watching Amy's Got a Gluegun on YouTube, and she answered these questions and I thought it would be fun to do the same, so here goes:
1. What is your décor style? I collect snowmen and snowy stuff, so that's basically my style
I've scaled down a bit since I moved and don't have near as many as I used to, but here are my decorations:
 The tree is one of those ceramic ones that have holes cut out with plastic pieces and you put a lightbulb under it. I stopped putting the base on a couple years ago, because mine is vintage and I was a little worried about the wires. The cards hanging on it are from a swap that was called Merry Moos from a Yahoo! group, basically we created these little cards. You can see my patriotic snowman and my policeman snowman. I also love the cute couple on the right side.
Traveling around the corner you see this bookshelf:
 These are my Iowa State University snowmen. I'm in Ames, IA, which is where Iowa State University is and I also went there and work there. Most of them are snowglobes, but there are a few others there. You can also see the candy mold ornament someone made for me in a button swap, and my cute blue/green ornament. You can also see a guinea pig fabric button book I got in a swap.
Traveling along this wall, you come to this bookshelf:
 I love the little black tree I got on after Christmas sales at Borders one year. That snowman on the left also lights up. The one on the right, I call my artist snowman cause he's got a beanie/hat on. On the first shelf you see a Santa, that's actually a nesting doll my parents got me in Alaska one year. You can also see the 'ice cube' snowmen with their peppermint candles.
Going around the corner you come to this bookshelf (have you notice they all match?):
 At the top is a music box, right next to my 'real' Christmas tree, it's actually a part of a lilac tree we had to cut out at my old house, I took the bark off and sealed it with a light brown/yellow varnish. You can barely see the blue elephant ornament at the top of it, I collect elephants, though this is probably the only Christmas ornament I have. You can also see I'm still kinda stuck in fall with the ceramic pumpkin and Halloween snowglobe, I got them at the end of fall and didn't have enough time to enjoy them, so I left them out. Most of this bookcase is decorated with ornaments people have made me, quite a few are from button swaps. The little girl in front of the radio on the top, the dress form on the left hanging from the top, The square box in the middle hanging from the top, the stockings hanging from the first shelf, the mitten forms hanging from the first and second shelves. I also have a couple vintage snowmen: the cup on the first shelf, the round one on his feet behind the mitten on the second shelf. I also love the hot air balloon a friend gave me in a swap.
Going along this wall, you come to my TV cabinet:
 I love those two in the middle with their glittery hats. I had bought them at a garage sale and their heads were bare. I picked up these hat ornaments at the Dollar Tree. I really like the silver one, I added some tinsel around the outside and a sparkly button on the top. You can also see Christmas Kermit, I collect frogs (less so now), and a few wild animals dressed up for the cold.
Traveling along the wall, you come to my owl tree (this is actually out all year long):
 I had top bid for this tree at a local festival of trees event, it had ornaments made out of vintage buttons, it also has a garland made out of vintage mother of pearl buttons. The ornaments came off in the move and haven't made it back to the tree. When I first got it, I referred to it as my Charlie Brown Christmas tree because it looked that sad, so I stuck some owls on it and it has grown from there. I love collecting owls, most of them are Christmas ornaments, but as you can see on the shelves below the tree, I've gotten many others as well. That bowl on the second shelf I actually picked up this year on clearance for $1.50.
And around the corner, you run into my 'bar':
 My apartment is very small. I don't really have room for a bar. I do have baking supplies in that cabinet, but I mostly use it to store stuff (as you can see from the kitchen stuff behind the winter decorations). In this picture I have a lot of Christmas gifts waiting to be wrapped, I am happy to say they are all wrapped up and ready to be opened. You can also see my monster, I love monsters.
This window is above my TV, sorry about the darkness, it was night when I took this picture:
These two art pieces were from the local festival of trees, they have a silent art auction at the same time. 
2. When do you start decorating? Usually when it starts getting cold. This year it was Black Friday.
3. What are your favorite colors to decorate with? Mostly white
4. Do you change your décor theme every year? No, I add more snowmen, mostly what people give me now, I don't buy a lot anymore.
5. What’s your favorite winter candle? I don't allow myself to have candles. I accidentally left one burning overnight in my old apartment, so I'm not allowed to have them anymore.
6. What’s your favorite thing to decorate with? As you can see from the pictures, snowmen
7. How do you decorate the outside of your home? I live in an apartment, I can't decorate the outside.
8. What’s your favorite room to decorate? Probably the living room because I spend the most time in there.
9. What’s your most meaningful Christmas décor piece? I really like the ceramic Christmas tree. My grandparents had one when I was little, so when I saw this one at a garage sale a few years ago, I scooped it up.
10. Fake or real tree: We never had a real tree when I was growing up because of my mom's allergies. My apartment's have never been big enough for real trees, and I really like my little tiny trees, they are so easy to store and put up. 

11. Any Christmas inspirations or tips? No, it used to be I put everything in the same place year after year, so it was fun to find new places for my stuff this year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Tuesday, December 06, 2016

Hodgepodge Vol 289

It's Hodgepodge time again. Head on over to Joyce's blog to see what other people's answers are.


1. Let's talk holiday decorating. On a scale of 1-10 where do you fall? (1=Scrooge and 10= Clark Griswold). What's your favorite corner-room-table-space to decorate? Is it done? Maybe a 5. I feel I just got done decorating in my new space, so I didn't want to bring out my Christmas stuff.  Black Friday at about 8pm I decided to do it though. Mostly all my stuff is in the living room.
 This is in the corner by my bedroom door. I love this ceramic tree. My grandparents had one when I was a kid. I bought this at a garage sale, I don't have the bottom where a lightbulb is on it, because I'm a bit wary about how old it is. So, I just take off the top and decorate it with these tiny cards I got in a swap years ago.
 This bookshelf is just to the right of the one above. It has all my Iowa State University snowmen on it. I used to have these in my kitchen at my old place.
 This bookshelf is on the same wall as the above one, but a bit farther to the right. As you can see most of my decorations are snowmen, mostly so I don't have to put them away right after Christmas. I found that tiny black tree at Borders one year on clearance. You can also see the 'ice cube' snowmen on the top shelf of the bookshelf. They have candles that look like candy canes in them.
 This one is right around the corner from the other one. It is the most decorated. But, you can also see I'm kinda hanging on to fall with my pumpkin and Halloween snowglobe on the top. A lot of the hanging ornaments are from swaps I've done throughout the years. That set of snowmen on the bottom shelf, one of them has pink the other blue, I just got in a swap this year, I'm loving them.
 This is my TV stand. I have a few decorationgs on the bottom. I really love those two with the sparkly hats in the middle. I picked them up at a garage sale over the summer and had to add hats to their bare heads, I think they look much nicer now.
 This is right next to my TV stand. It's actually decorated like this all year round. I collect owls, and it's my owl tree. I love this tree, it's a little barer because of the move, it used to have vintage glass button ornaments on it. If you look really closely, you can see the mother-of-pearl button garland on it.
 This is the bar into my kitchen. It's actually just holding most of my presents I'm giving away. I was having a hard time remembering what I had gotten for people, so I coralled it all here, now I just need to wrap them.
This is right above my TV. 
I got rid of a lot of snowmen before I moved. While I had the same number of rooms, plus a lot of closet space, I feel my apartment was at least twice the size of this one. My mom got a little upset a few years ago when they had garage sales to get ready for their upcoming move because I was getting rid of so many snowmen. I knew whereever I moved it would be smaller than what I was in at the time.
I do feel I'm missing a couple snowmen, but I've been through all my boxes, so I guess there were a couple I parted with that I didn't know I'd miss. Oh well.

2. Is there a nativity scene in your decorating somewhere? Post a picture or, if it's special to you in some way, tell us why. Or do both-it's Christmas! No

3.  Do you live in a social neighborhood? If so are you glad? If not do you wish you did? No. Sometimes I wish I knew some more of my neighbors. One of my former bosses lives just a few houses down, I'm not entirely pleased about that, she wasn't the best boss and I don't like interacting with her.

4.  As the saying goes, 'there's no time like the present'. How does that ring true in your life right now? Maybe to get rid of the boxes I still have around. Most of them are empty, I just don't have the room in our garbage can to put them, but I still have stuff to organize and put away.

5. Do you dread Mondays? Why or why not? Mondays don't really bother me, it could be because my regular day off is Tuesday, so that's always a nice perk. I don't just work Monday-Friday, so it's not like I'm coming off a 2-day break. 

6.  Poinsettia, Christmas Cactus, Amaryllis-which on the list is your favorite holiday plant? Are any of these on display in your home right now? I'm not a big flower person. I like that there's a lot of different colored poinsettias out there. I guess if I had to pick out of those, it would be a Christmas Cactus.

7. Share a favorite quote from a Christmas movie. I know it's not a traditional Christmas movie, but it takes place on Christmas. "Now I have a gun, ho ho ho"

8.  Insert your own random thought here. I got a new roommate this weekend and I am not pleased. Monday morning I woke up to see a mouse on my floor. My landlord has gotten traps, and while I haven't seen it since Monday afternoon, I've still heard it around. I'm afraid it's gonna start chewing on things. There's no food on the floor, so I'm afraid of what it will start chewing on.

Also, Christmas is in about 2 1/2 weeks are you ready?

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Collective haul

This covers the last few weeks. On November 16th, one of the local stores was doing a fundraiser for Project Smyles (a nonprofit run through the library), so of course I had to go. I stopped at another store, and since it was Wednesday, their home decor was 20% off.
Everything I bought was on clearance or on sale. The pig is for a friend. The bird bowl was for myself, but I might end up sending it out for a swap. The pumpkin was on clearance for half off, I paid about $5 for it. I really brought it up to see how much it was, originally it was $10 something which I thought was a bit high, especially since the ones that were twice that size were only $14, but whatever, I've been wanting one of these for awhile anyway. The reindeer is for my brother. The santa was supposed to light up, but once I bought the 3 batteries it required (for $7), I found out why it was on clearance, it doesn't work. The roly poly santa and the white one are for my mother. I bought the snowflakes for swaps.
Here's the store doing the fundraiser
 They are a fair trade store, and always have lots of neat stuff. One of the pens has a llama on it, it's for the same friend as the pig above. I bought the pen with the lady on it and the doll for a swap. The doll actually provides income so women can provide menstrual pad kits for girls in Nepal. The lizard is for a friend.
The next day I went to Walmart and the mall for necessities, I also had to check out TJ Maxx.
 
 I needed black pants, jeans, boots and some knee high socks.
The jeans and boots are put away until I need them for my jobs so I don't wear them out before then. I also needed some more fleece lined leggings for home. Sadly, this pear was too small so I had to convince my mom to go on Saturday to trade them out. Turns out this style just kinda sucks, I guess it's low rise, and just slides right off my but when I bend down, it's a good thing I wasn't planning on wearing them outside.
I picked up the black pants at Younkers, because I needed them for an event on Saturday night. I swear they fit fine in the store. When I went to put them on Saturday night they were a little large. They are a stretchy material. Since I didn't want to bother with trading them out, I just pinned them together at the back with a safety pin.
 I also went through the clearance aisle.
I picked up the photo banner for future swaps as well as the fall potholder set and the pins. The owl bowl was $1. I was ecstatic (cause I totally need more owls). I picked up the hedgehog towel for a friend. I also picked up a few more Christmas stickers.
Here's TJ Maxx
They had a ton of stuff out for Christmas and were still putting things out. It was very different than the one table they had for Halloween. The set of washi was on a table of gifts for $5 and under, there's 8 rolls, so it was cheaper than going to the dollar tree. I picked up the tissue paper for $1. I picked up the pistachio nougat for Christmas, but ate it myself, so good. I want to go back for more, but it was about $3. I bought the chocolate for my dad. The bookmarks and note pad set are for swaps. I just picked up the candy because they were $1 each.
The next Tuesday, I went to Hobby Lobby, because I needed tape again.
 The paper studio stuff was 50% off, I only picked up the three sheets of stickers. The Mambu Sticks were in the clearance and I have been eyeing them for awhile. I plan to use them in a flip book. I misplaced my hole punch in the move and Walmart was out of them when I went the week before. Of course after I bought this, I found my hole punch. I'm not sure if I'll take it back or not. The Christmas stuff was also 50% off, I only picked up the tags. The stocking stickers were in the clearance section.
November 26th was Small Business Saturday, so my mom and I headed downtown. I found this huge gnome guy at one store
 I don't know how much he is, but I'm sure he's out of my price range. He was probably about 4 feet tall, his coat was so soft, and he bounced kinda like a bobble head.
I also found this cute block:
 I bought a couple ornaments, but did not get a picture of them.
Today, I went to Dollar Tree and Target, I was going to go to Walmart for one thing, but I talked myself out of it. I needed wrapping paper and chocolate. I feel I'm done shopping for Christmas now.
 I feel I mostly picked up chocolate. I had cartwheel savings for the two Ghiradelli packages.
I picked up the multi pack because I had the savings and I wanted to try the eggnog square. It's pretty good, I wish they had a whole pack of them. I probably shouldn't have picked up the other Ghiradelli package, but I had the cartwheel, and I know I can find someone to give it to. I love the Merci chocolates, funny thing, this package was cheaper than the same thing in their regular chocolate section. I was going to go to Walmart for this 'champagne' bottle of chocolate, but it was cheaper at Target, so I guess it was good I didn't. I always have to get a bag of Dove peppermint bark every season, though last season it took me forever to eat them. I picked up the Ritter multi pack because they are so good and I'd never seen this before. I picked up the champagne and cabernet truffles for my brother. I had to pick up these really cute bottles of Nutella, they were only $1.
I also visited the dollar spot
 I've been seeing people haul these melted snowmen sticky notes and was so glad to have found them. I'm still looking for the 'snow globe' stickers. I'd also seen people pick up these gift tags that are also pockets. I picked up the blank cards to make cards. I figured I'd use the ribbon on a flip book. I picked up the paper clips for a swap. I love these tags. I had seen a packed of cards with the truck on it, but I don't need more cards.
Next was Dollar Tree
 I love that dollar tree has so many interesting foods, and if I don't like them, I'm not gonna feel bad about taking them to work cause I only spent a dollar. These Minees cookies are new to me, they are sandwich cookies with different flavored fillings. I had a cartwheel to get some of these cookies at Target but knew I could get them at Dollar Tree. I picked up the mug for a swap. I've seen people haul these butter cookies and I'm curious how they compare to the others. Of course I had to pick up some gummies. The peanut clusters are for a swap. The almond roca and white Twix are for me.
 I saw these lace headbands and thought I could cut off the elastic and just use the lace. I've been wanting one of these pumpkins for awhile. I picked up the two hats for a couple of my snowmen that looked sad without hats. I just liked the tree ornament, turns out it was only 50 cents. I had to pick up this set of nesting boxes cause of the owl. I've seen people getting these snowflakes and wanted to use them on a flip book. I picked up the potholders for a swap.
We finally got new stickers, of course not the tiny puffy ones I've been wanting. I saw these big sheets in people's videos and knew I'd pick up one of each if I found them. I picked up another emoji pen, this guy's sad. Those are two headed highlighter pens I just wanted to try out. I've been looking for these rosette stickers. I love this frog, he might by my favorite purchase. He's actually a toothbrush holder, but I plan to use him for pens. They had a set of a toothbrush holder, soap dispenser and soap holder, but I only picked up this guy. I don't need more frogs, but I love finding them.

My mother called this afternoon saying she took out all her Santa ornaments and it just felt wrong to decorate without me, even though I had already told her I didn't want to help. I know she actually called because it's hard to decorate with my father. He's legally blind, so he just can't help much. Plus, she bought a 9 foot tree a few years ago. I almost went over to their place to help, even though I know they'll annoy me and then I'll be upset for a few days. I'm not gonna do it. I need this day away from her and people.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Hodgepodge Vol 286

Hodgepodge is back. Head on over to Joyce's blog to see other people's answers.


1. Let's all think happy thoughts...share one of yours here. I borrowed the original Gone in 60 Seconds from the library the other day, I'm excited to watch it.

2. There's a Chinese proverb that says, "If you want happiness for an hour take a nap, if you want happiness for a day-go fishing...." What say you? If you want happiness for a day Learn to craft. That's what I did all day, and it was pretty satisfying.


3. Where do you go to decompress from the world around you? Mostly I just stay at home and turn on some music or watch a movie.

4. What song never fails to make you happy? How about Two Lanes of Freedom by Tim McGraw
Sorry, couldn't find an official music video, so you get the live version

5. Wednesday is National Fast Food Day. Should that be a thing? Apparently it is, so tell us what's the last 'fast food' you consumed? If you were putting together your own version of a 'happy meal' what would you include? I love that. I'm not sure it should be a thing, but I would love a reason to get fast food (I'm trying to be good and not spend money on stuff I don't need). I went to Wendy's a few weeks ago, and got their grilled chicken. I can't decide between grilled chicken or a cheeseburger. So either grilled chicken from Wendy's or a Whopper with cheese from Burger King, with fries from McDonald's and Cherry Coke made with grenadine instead of from the bottle.

6. In a few sentences tell us why you blog. For me. I don't know how many people actually read my blogs, but I like showing what I've bought and I really like showcasing my art.

7. List seven things you're feeling especially grateful for today. 1. That I have enough money to buy stuff I don't need. 2. That I have a nice job (or actually jobs) to provide me with that money. 3. That I don't have to work on Thanksgiving or Black Friday and I still get paid. 4. That I have a job. 5. That I have good friends. 6. That I'm good enough in health to stand for long hours. 7. That the day is over with. (publishing this Tuesday night)
That turned out very job/money centered, I didn't mean for that to happen but I just got back from one of my jobs tonight and was thinking about next week.

8. Insert your own random thought here. I'm not ready for cold weather or December or Christmas. I'm not ready for the end of the year. I'm tired, I don't really have a random thought. I'm just ready for bed.

Tuesday, November 08, 2016

12 Days of Christmas Swap

It's time for Chaotic Goddess's 12 Days of Christmas Swap. I was thinking the other day, it was about time to sign up for this.
I love this swap. Basically you put together 12 gifts that your partner will open the 12 days before Christmas ending on Christmas. I've done this swap 3 or 4 times, and it's so much fun. You get to meet someone new, get and give gifts. If you know me I love giving things to people.
Sign-ups start: November 7th, 2016
Sign-ups end: November 14th, 2016
Packages ship by: December 3rd, 2016
Start opening on: December 13th, 2016

If you want to see what I have received for last year, what I sent and received for 2014, and what I sent and received for 2013, check those posts out.

And, go sign up. It will be a blast.

More stuff!!

Because I don't have enough. Hobby Lobby had Christmas at 50% off last week and since I didn't know if that would continue on this week. I went over.
buttons, felt trees, felt owls, reindeer napkin rings, paper pad, duct tape, washi, socks, gel pens
I ended up finding a few things. I've been going through button withdrawal lately, so I picked up a bag of their buttons, I used a 40% off coupon on it, I got it for $3.59. I seem to be on a tree kick for the Christmas this year, so I picked up these felt cut out trees for $1.49. I also picked up these cute felt owls for $1.99, I wanted to pick them up before when Christmas was 40% off but thought I might not use them. I picked up a set of four reindeer napkin rings for my brother for $7.96. I thought I might make a Christmas or winter flip book, so I chose the paper pad that seemed least Christmasy, there's a really cute page with trees that would make a great cover page, for $3.49. I found the wildlife duct tape in the clearance aisle for $1.79. I'd seen this in people's videos and at JoAnns, so I was really excited to find it. The washi was Christmas, so I got that for $1.99. I really liked these socks and when I went to put them on the other day, I found they are over the knee, not knee high socks, they were $2.04. I just picked up the pens because they are gel pens, they're Superman gel pens, I just wanted the gel pens, they were $1.79 each.
When I got home I couldn't wait to go through my button bag. These are my favorites:
 I LOVE the fox one. I feel I should do something with the reindeer. I've already altered a paperclip with the two pilgrims. I love those red blobby things, they look like caterpillars to me.
Saturday afternoon, I had to work, and we had a book sale going on at the library, so of course I went on my break. I picked up a couple movies: Identity and the newer Gone in 60 Seconds. I got those for a total of $4.
Monday, it was pay $1, and take all you want, so I ended up with this stack:
 The Year the World Went Mad by Allen Churchill, The Oxford History of the American People by Samuel Eliot Morison, Real Boys by William Pollack, Torture Team by Philippe Sands, Inside People by Judy Kessler, Sex and Sensibility by Jean H. Hagstrum, Eyewitness to America edited by David Colbert, The Fountain of Age by Betty Friedan, One Nation edited by LIFE Magazine, America's Heritage by Gary DeMar and Titanic by Dr. Robert D. Ballard. UGH!! I do not need more books. I got stuck in the history and social sciences sections.
Today, I went shopping to see if places had any fall/Halloween stuff and what they had for Christmas. I went backwards from my usual route and hit all my stores backwards. I skipped Hobby Lobby because I was just there on Saturday, even though I wanted to do a thorough search of the clearance section and see what fall/Halloween was marked down to.
I did end up going to JoAnn's, I never go there anymore, I rarely find anything to buy. Today, was different:
I picked up three packs of napkins for my mother for $1.19 each. The sign said fall/Halloween was only 50% off but when I went to pay, they rung up as 66% off. I picked up almost one of every Darice sticker book they had. I'll probably hold on to them until next year. I also found the Trolls sticker book that everyone has been hauling from Dollar Tree because I know my Dollar Tree will not get it. It was priced $1.49, but rang up $1.11
I went to Walmart, but couldn't find anything I wanted to spend my money on.
Next up was Target. Normally, I hit the dollar spot and the clearance sections at Target. Last week I went online to see their Christmas selection, so I knew I'd be visiting it, so I added the 5% off ornaments to my Cartwheel savings.
monster ornaments, washi, Raphael, planner stickers, erasers, page flags, labels, erasers.
 I love these monster ornaments, and I picked up the fuzzy brown guy as well. Most of their ornament section was $3.00. I picked up the reindeer and tree washi in the Christmas section for $2 each. The two plaid washi are from the dollar spot, they were $1 each. The Raphael keychain was in their Christmas section, I couldn't pass him up, he's my favorite. The planner stickers were also from the dollar spot, they were $3, the back sheet is planner stickers, the middle package is 3 pages of washi flags, and the front package is page flags and three magnetic bookmarks. I picked up a bag of penguin erasers for friend mail for $1. I've been seeing people pick up these cute little page flags, so I was really surprised to find them at my Target dollar spot, I picked up a package of $1, they were smaller than I expected, but they are soo cute! The labels were on clearance for ten cents, they are copper foiled, I thought I could use them whenever, not just fall. The Rudolph erasers were also from the dollar spot, they were also $1. I have a little of a Rudolph theme going on.
And since at least one picture must be blurry, here it is. Why does it always look so clear when I find it, and not when I get it on the computer.
Anyways, last stop was Dollar Tree.
stickers, glitter tape, solar turkey, cupcake liners, glitter tape, gift tags, moisture eliminator, sequins
I picked up the gift tag book to use on gifts, there are a lot of cute designs, I could always cut them out and use the pictures. I've seen people hauling this glitter tape, the last glitter tape I picked up from the Dollar Tree had a lot of fallout. I've heard this does not, I guess if it does, I'll just pass on to someone else. I wanted this guy last year when I saw them, but of course there were all out. I'm not sure he actually works, but I don't have a lot of natural light in my apartment, I'm planning to take him to work. I thought I'd try my hand at rosettes, I really wanted some primary color ones, but none of those at the dollar tree, so I got these. There are mini green ones and regular sized red ones. I love these gift tags, I saw them on Missy's channel and loved what she had said about them. These are folded in half, so you can easily cut the front off and do something with them, so I got two. I had seen someone haul these moisture eliminator things, she said they worked very well, so I picked up a couple to try out. I picked up the sequins cause they were big and I thought I'd try to do something with them.
mugs, snickers, caramels, truffles, cider, gummy bears
I thought this was a cute mug, it's got Woodstock sleeping in his nest, on the other side is a sign that says "Do not disturb", the other one says Chocolate is always the answer. I've already signed up for one Christmas swap, and I'm signing up for another on. The Snickers is for me. The box of caramels is for my dad, the mint truffles my mother and I'm sure I can find someone to give the other truffles to. I love this sparkling cider, it's so good, so I picked up four. I really wanted to get a whole box, but I had to walk home with them. The gummy bears were also for me.
I was going to go to Burger King for lunch, but since I spent $25 at Dollar Tree, I wasn't allowed to.

I have this box that I kept putting all my Christmas gifts/supplies stuff in. It is officially full, so I'm not allowed to buy anything else until I find out who my partners are for my swaps and then I still have to look through my stuff first. Let's see if I can do that.