Saturday, July 29, 2017

Week of July 23rd

It's the last full week of July, can you believe it?
Sunday: I'm not entirely sure what I did, I had to work and I know I lounged around all afternoon.
Monday: I finished a book about a plane crash and the one survivor's story. I also got a few things in the mail.
A mermaid tag:
 A bingo card for a game:
 It only took a week to get here. I remember asking at the post office once why regular mail takes so long and their answer was that it's smaller and gets lost easier. I feel that's not a very good answer.
I worked that night and thankfully it was not as rough as last week.
Tuesday: I signed up for an extra shift and opened at the library. I saw this fish on the side of the road on the way in:
 I felt sorry for the fish. Thankfully when I got home, it was gone.
I finished another book that afternoon about a lady that was born into Hitler's breeding camps.
I also got a thank you card in the mail:
 I had sent her some glimmer mist and lace, as a thank you she made me some tags and a card. I love her work.
I had a weird night on Tuesday. I had heard from my 3rd job asking for my available hours in August, after sending an email with basically every hour I wasn't working at the library, I took myself out of almost all my swaps and started freaking out because I knew I needed some time for me. So, I wrote back saying I needed a certain day off. And then my mind went elsewhere and I had a ton going on and then I was stressing about stuff that hadn't even happened yet, and of course I couldn't sleep.
Wednesday: I opened again at the library. I got my purchase for a sample box from Etsy:
The tumbler is from here, the bath bombs are from here, the ring is from here, the planner goodies are from here, the nail decals are from here, the tea is from here, the magnet is from here, the bag is from here, the wood decor is from here, the decals are from bioncawaller on Instagram, the cards are from here and the facial masque is from here.
I'm not very impressed with any of it. The tumbler is very small, but cute. The bath bombs were breaking apart in the bag. The ring is rather cute it's a cross stitched shell, I liked that. The planner goodies are a journaling card, a clothespin, some die cute mason jars, some washi, and a paper clip. I like those. I won't use the nail decals, though I might include them in a flip book. I don't drink tea. The magnet is cute, but will probably send off in happy mail. I like the bag, it's very cute, small but cute. I like the wood decor, I've already found a place for it. The decals are very simple, but I'm sure I'll use them. The cards are interesting, and I won't use the facial masque.
I'm not really impressed with the box, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but grab bags always draw me in. I will use a few items and give the rest away and from what I could find, the items I got far exceed the cost of the box. The big thing I didn't like was shipping and the facial masque felt like it kinda leaked all over the other items.
I bought it in June and didn't read that it didn't mail out until at least July 15th, I was thinking it was my birthday present to myself. Anywho, I got notification that it was mailed on the 21st, only to find out that it didn't actually go to the post office until the 24th. Am I the only one that gets annoyed about that? It's not actually mailed until you take it to the post office, not when you printed the label.
I've decided I'm not allowed to get any more grab bags of anything. I'm always drawn in by the mystery, but looking at what I've got in grab bags from various places, I rarely use a ton of the items, so I should stop buying them.
I also got my August tag in the mail:
I'm not sure how I feel about it.
I had to finish a fairy mini pocket letter:
 Thursday: I went to the mall because I had to buy some new shoes for my temp job coming up in August. My first stop was Walmart:
 food, ibuprofen, tape, picture frame, stickers.
I wanted to see if they had any interesting food. This is only the 2nd time I've gone to this Walmart, I really need to go and just peruse the whole store, I still couldn't figure out where the clearance aisle was. My main reason was to get ibuprofen, which was cheaper than I expected. I've decided every time I go to Walmart, I need to pick up a pack of double stick tape, then I won't have to freak out and run out again. The Hershey's mix I picked up cause it sounded interesting, , the cookies on the top have raspberry jelly under the layer of chocolate, very good, I've had the Cadbury fingers before. I was actually on the hunt for chocolate covered pretzels, I didn't realize the Flipz were caramel and sea salt, they're ok. I picked up the frame for a swap, I was looking for fairy stickers, but didn't find any, so I picked up these cute baby ones. The Hershey mix was $3.50, the ibuprofen was $3.94, the cookies were $3.12, the tape was $5.84, the picture frame was $0.97, the stickers were $0.97, the Flipz were $2.78, the Cadbury fingers were $2.38, I spent about $25.
Next stop was JcPenney's. I've learned if you want good tennis shoes, you go there:
 The shoes were originally $60, on sale for $44, I love the colors on them. The Tsum Tsum was right inside the door for $1.99, normally they're about $5, so I couldn't pass it up. I'm not exactly sure what it is, it looks like a bird. I wish they would tell you on the tags.
I went to Hallmark with the idea I was going to buy one of their cute stuffed animals I saw way back in October, but then decided I was happy with my guy from Penney's. It's interesting, they really expanded that section and it takes up a great deal of the store, but I can't justify spending $7 on something that's about 6 inches tall.
My last stop was TJ Maxx:
 I think I was so bummed that I didn't find anything to buy the last time I was there, that I went a little overboard. food, stickers, sticky notes. I've had the nougats before, so I picked up 2 more, they were $2.99 each. The unicorn stickers I found with some unicorn picks that I saw last time, they were $2.99, the sticky notes at the top have a tiny one and a larger one that look like notebook paper, two of the page flags have scissors on them, they were $3.99. I did splurge a bit on the sweet treats sticky notes they were $4.99, I had found another pack that was unicorn themed, but I liked these better. The Nutty Rice Bites were on clearance for $2, the bagel chips were $2.99.
I also got unicorns in my mailbox:
Someone from one of my facebook groups sent them to me. I worked at the library that night.
Friday: I was going to go to a garage sale, but I didn't feel like walking so far for one sale, I did that the week before and I didn't feel it was worth it.
I checked out my downtown's sidewalk sales that afternoon, I found these cute ghosties at one store:
 They were originally $8 each and were marked down to $1 each, that's the magic price for me. I saw this quote somewhere "I don't know what it is, but it's on sale", tweak a few words and it fits me to a T: "I don't know what it is, but it's only a dollar". I figured with Halloween coming up, I can gift them to friends, or something. They are felted.
I went to another store and ran into a friend, she's always saying how she tries to take days off and it doesn't happen very often, so when I saw this cup in another store I knew I needed to get it for her:
 It says: Today's agenda...get through it! Her desk doesn't have as tall piles, but I feel she's always got a lot of stuff on her desk. I'm thinking I'll fill it up with chocolate or some kind of tea and give it to her as a surprise some day. It cost $4, the lid was with it, but I think it really doesn't go with it, so I'm not gonna give it to her.
I saw these cute planters at another store:


 They were maybe two and a half feet tall, originally $30, but 30% off. I don't have an outside space, but I would totally buy them if they were marked down more.
Here's what I did pick up:
 The large bunny was $5, the egg was $1, and the small bunny was $1. Not like I need any of it. I might give the big bunny to my mother, who knows.
I found these cute candles at another store:
 I would totally buy them just for the box if they weren't so expensive.
I also found this cute couple in their sale basement:
 They would have been $11.50 together, but I couldn't justify buying them.
When I got home, I found a late birthday card in my mail:
I love the whale sticky notes and the hedgehog.
Saturday: I opened at the library and lounged around all afternoon.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Week of July 16

Sunday: I didn't have to work, so I kinda just didn't do anything all day. I did have to make a sewing pocket letter:
The back has a bunch of sewing goodies.
I also had to make my screw it and do it challenge, I may have been on my way to bed when I remembered:
 Monday: I had to go to Target to return a few items and some more pocket pages and Walmart for more double stick tape and Dollar Tree for a loofah.
I found these cute stickers at Dollar Tree
I felt I could make them, so I just took a picture.
Here's what I bought:
I was hungry, so I picked up the veggie straws, they were not flavored enough for me, so I took them to work. I needed the Coke for work, I totally broke my loofah in the shower on Sunday, it just all fell apart. I love this notebook, I saw it in someone else's haul and had to pick it up when I saw it.
Here's what I got at Walmart:
frogs for the bathtub, double stick tape.
I picked up the frogs to put on the bottom of my tub, it's very easy to slip on my bathtub (now that I have a regular sized bathtub, I'm still getting used to it). I needed double stick tape.
Here's what I picked up at Target:
pocket pages, minion pens.
I was very happy to have stuck to what I needed at Walmart, Dollar Tree and somewhat at Target. I just didn't find anything else I really wanted to spend my money on, plus I only spent cash I had, and didn't take anything out of my checking account.
And here I went a little crazy at Target:
I was in the mood for chocolate, and Target is the place to go for good chocolate, plus I had cartwheel savings for the Godiva, the Milka Oreo bars and the Nature Valley granola things. The Heath were on clearance, the Ice drinks were on sale, I just picked up the Lindt because I was hungry. I have a Target gift card from my birthday, so I kinda went a little crazy.
I did my Screw It and Do It Challenge before work:
And had a very trying night at work, so was excited to come home to four swap packages.
Journaling cards:
3x4s
Red, White and blue pocket letter (this was a surprise because my partner flaked on me):
Loaded mini envelope:
And some random happy mail:
 Tuesday: I had to open at the library, but I had a much better day.
I finished my mini loaded envelopes:
and the second one:
I also finished a mermaid tag:
and my Screw It and Do It Challenge:
Wednesday: I had to open again, went to mail all the swaps I finished, and went grocery shopping. I finally spent the rest of my cash at the post office, and may have splurged a little on food. I get tired of the cheap, boring meals after awhile. I really wanted to buy ice cream, and though I live 2 blocks from the grocery store, we're in a heat advisory and have had wicked high levels of humidity, so I was afraid it would be soup by the time I got home.
I watched a movie and caught up on my YouTube stuff. I got a package back in the mail due to a miscommunication on the zipcode, I mailed it on the 5th and it just got back to me today, which made me a bit upset, so I went to create some art.
An August calendar tag
And my Screw It and Do It challenge:
Thursday:
I got up and made my Screw It and Do It challenge:
I went to the post office to re-mail that package, turned out the zipcode was wrong, a miscommunication on people's parts. I went to Hobby Lobby looking for a couple new paper pads while they were having a 50% off sale on The Paperstudio papers and stickers. Sadly, mine didn't have the new paper pads, an employee told me they'd have them out in a couple weeks. I was so annoyed about that, that I put everything back and didn't buy anything. I almost went to JoAnn's, but decided not to buy anything.
I got my Pink and black envelope flip book in the mail:
We had a drunk guy at the library that night and rain.
Friday: I didn't do much before having to go in to work.
I did get my last Screw It and Do It Challenge done:
And basically just went to work.
HyVee is starting to make donuts from scratch, so they gave us a few boxes of them to enjoy, I think they are much better.
I got a button swap in the mail:
I love all the printed wooden ones, I'll probably end up hoarding them.
Saturday: I got up to go to a garage sale and spent a grand total of 50 cents, I did find these:
I was tempted to buy one, cause they're so cool, but I didn't need it, and it would just sit around collecting dust until I got rid of it.
I walked by what I thought would be an estate sale on my way home, but there was no sign, so I didn't look.
I did get some ice cream, though.
We've been under a heat advisory since Wednesday, so I'll probably just not do much today, I should work on a couple art projects.

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Shopping Day

My friend and I went shopping to celebrate my birthday (July 2nd) yesterday.
First stop was Salvation Army, I picked up one cute bee:
 He was only 99 cents.
I was supposed to be looking for shirts (like last time), but it takes way too long to clothes shop. At the next stop, a local thrift store, I did find two:
 The one on the left is a gradiated plum with a leopard like print over it. The one on the right has a paisley print. They were about $4 each.
We went to lunch after that, I had an egg salad sandwich on a croissant, it was the saddest egg salad I've ever had, it didn't have any zip to it. The Snicker apple salad I had with it, was phenomenal, very good.
Next up was Goodwill:
 The binder is 2" (for my pocket letters) it was 99 cents, the shirt was $2.59 and the snowman mug was 99 cents. I don't need another snowman, but he was so cute.
My friend had to take a call for work, so I headed over to Target while she was on the phone. How cute is this accessory kit?
 It was $6, I had a gift card, but I still can't justify spending that much on it, I'll wait until after school shopping time and see if it shows up on clearance.
Here's what I did pick up:
 a couple sticky note kits for $1 each. The penguin holds a tiny bottle of glue, he was in the back to school section and only $1.49, I just thought it was cute. The watermelon pencil case was $3, the Wonder Woman socks are a 3-pack and were $5. The watermelon on the end was on clearance for $1.50.
I also picked this up:
It was $35, which is a bit steep for me, but I needed it as a replacement for my TV stand which has water damage and is sad. I haven't set it up yet, so I don't know if it works, but I hope it does.
Next up was another Salvation Army.
I love the sentiment on this cup:
I picked up some egg doilies, confetti, a keychain, a letter opener and an activity kit.
 The doilies were 49 cents, the red/white/blue sequins were 19 cents, the star sequins were 39 cents, the letter opener was 49 cents, the Star Wars play kit (really shouldn't have bought it, but it was all there) was $1.99.
We stopped by a garage sale on the way to the next store:
 I picked up this elephant creamer for a friend, it was 50 cents.
We stopped at another Salvation Army, but they were playing Christian music nonstop and it bothered me, so I didn't buy anything.
Next up was a Goodwill:
 I picked up that Scrapbook kit for $5.99. It says it has over 1200 items and is a $100 value. It wouldn't surprise me if it originally sold at $30 or more originally. It is missing a few pieces and I'll never use the scrapbook that was included, but I think it was worth it.
The Dollar Tree was right next door, so I convinced my friend to go there:
 calendars, stickers, cards, drying mat, food, mounting squares, pens. I think it's a little early to be picking up calendars for next year, but I thought since I was there, I'd pick some up, let's see if I lose them before 2018. I couldn't pass by the sea or owl stickers, I was actually a little disappointed in their sticker section, but it's not like I need more. I also don't need more notecards, but this set has a bunny holding a flower. I did need the drying mat. I always try to pick up foam tape, or in this case foam mounting squares when I see it. I didn't need more pens either, but I admit, I have a problem.
I had a fun time, spent a bit over $40 and got to spend time with a friend. It was a great day off.