Thrifty Finds

I'm so excited to show my thrifty treasures for the week! I went to our local Salvation Army earlier in the week and found these:

two Masters travel bags - $1.50 each!

a Kenneth Cole purse. It's small, but very nice- almost new! - $2.50

a little glass jar with a cute lid - $1

I also got a large valet for a guest room. I've always wanted one of those! (I don't have a guest room now, but I'll probably use it at the house we are fixing up for guests at my Nana's.) It was $6 and needs a little glue on one of the legs. Sorry no picture!

Then I went to just a couple of yard sales on Saturday, but I found this New in the Box Southern Living Dress Me Up plate!!!!! $3!!!!!!! yay! I already have one, but they are selling on eBay for $25-30! I'm listing it today!

I also found this LARGE plate rack. I'm thinking about painting it black and putting it in my bedroom on a narrow wall beside the bathroom. Now I just need some great plates for it! It was $3, too.

Finally, here's the makeover I did for the canisters I found last week. The lids were brown with strawberries painted on them. I spray painted them black and they are stunning..especially with our new black cabinets! Love them!

I also got the hubby to hang the light fixture I've had painted for some time now. It was brass and ugly and the arms were pointing down before. I painted it black and added some new globes. I'm not 100% happy with the globes, but I already had them from another light fixuture I took down so they will do for now. I love the drama it adds to the living room!

Be sure to check out everyone's posts for their thrifty treasures over at Rhoda's blog, Southern Hospitality!

been busy...

We've had a busy week/weekend getting our house ready for my birthday party this next Saturday. We've been painting the kitchen cabinets black and they are looking sooo good! I can't wait to get the doors back on. Adam has also been building a new storage cabinet and replaced some light fixutures, too. He actually would have gotten even more done, but he had a little cut on his hand that needed about three stitches on Saturday afternoon! We took a trip to the emergency room and he got his first stitch in 31 years! ha. He was most upset that now he's had stitches and that he got blood on his Carhart overalls (they came clean, though!).

I talked my sister, Audra, into going with me to Augusta on Saturday morning. We went to Old Navy where they had $2 tank tops and stopped at a couple of yard sales on the way (much to her dismay! ha). I was happy to find a couple of deals there and also found some great clearance items at Michael's that I can use for my Mary Kay gift baskets at Christmas.

For the past two Sundays, Alabama hasn't been her normal happy self in the nursery at church. When I go check on her after practice, she is crying and screaming! I hope she isn't becoming one of those children that cry when we leave. (I mean I do like it that she misses me, but also want her to be happy with the sweet ladies at church.) I think what it mostly is, is that on Sundays, her schedule is very altered because we have to leave early so she doesn't get as much sleep as normal. After I feed her, she is usually okay, but I think it's more that she is sleepy. I'm also not sure why she has started to wake up again after she was doing so good at sleeping through the night. On Friday, Alabama and I went to the mall and got the Babywise II book so that I could hopefully find out what I could do to help her start sleeping through the night again. I'm thinking that maybe she's just not getting enought to eat during the day since she is bigger now. We're working on eating solid food 3 times a day and then nursing as well. They say that a typical schedule would be 7, 11, 3, and 7. We definitely dont' have it down to that yet, but we're working on it! We also began to not hold her while she goes to sleep, but put her in her crib awake and let her get to sleep herself. That had been our plan all along, but the follow through wasn't always so easy! ha. The first night, she cried for about 25 minutes, but since then it has gotten much better! She will still fuss for a few minutes and lose her passy a few times, but she goes to sleep much faster and is doing so good! It does still make me nervous that she sleeps on her stomach now, though. But I know God has his hand of protection around her and she is safe and comfortable. I'm looking forward to a busy and exciting week! (including my birthday and the start of our bible study at Grace!)

I have some great treasures to share with you this week! The first two things I found at a church yard sale here in town last weekend. The bird candleholders I know are UGLY now...but just you wait! They were only 75 cents a piece and are very heavy metal. I'm thinking black for the branches and cream for the birds.

I also got this stool there. I will be painting it black and possibly putting a white monogram on the top for my daughter's room. It was $2.

I found these at a church yard sale, too. They were raising money for families that are adopting children. When I checked out, they lady said "These are all my things!" Great taste, lady! I got the fabric (except the houndstooth, which I found at the SA for $1.99) for 10 cents a piece. The planter ($2) is very pretty as it is and I can't decide if I will paint the sconce black or leave it as it is now. It was just $3. I think it's very pretty either way.

I got this cloche' at the SA for 2.99. I can't wait to get a cute little nest to put under it after I paint the base and clean the glass a little!

A sweet lady from church and family friend was having an estate sale this weekend, so I went early on Thursday and bought a couple things. I got this mirror new in the box for $4.50. I think I will paint it black and you will still be able to see the neat texture it has.

I also got a set of two glass canisters with wooden lids for $6. I will probably paint the lids black and use them for storage of some sort...maybe not in the kitchen. (The second one is larger than the pictured one.)

My most exciting find of the week was a new in the box Southern Living, Harrison plate holder at a yard sale for only........$3! Yay!!!!! I was so happy to find this and even happier that it was only $3! I also found this neat necklace at the same sale for $1.

I love to check out everyone's great finds for the week at Rhoda's blog, Southern Hospitality.

Fun weekend-Happy birthday Daddy!

We had a very busy but fun weekend. Friday, I cleaned the whole house and hosted a Tastefully Simple party that night. We had a great time and lots of family and friends here. Alabama spend the afternoon with her Aunt Georgia so I was able to get a lot done in a little amount of time....something that doesn't happen that often around here! haha. I am still waiting on a couple of orders, but I should get about $40 in free products! yay! Here's Alabama and our sweet friend Emma in their matching outfits. We stayed up way too late, but of course I still managed to get Adam to go with me to a few yard sales. My friend Shea was having one and I told her I would come by. More to come in another post!

Saturday afternoon, we came home and did a few things around the house for our To-do list we are working on. Then we took a nice nap and Alabama and I got ready and went to a friend's birthday party. She was having a luau party! This is Leslie's 10 month old baby Analise. She looks like she's saying "Get this kid off of me!" "Why is this girl touching me?" hahaha Alabama and the birthday girl, Sydney. Sunday was my Daddy's birthday so we celebrated with him after church. He is such a great Daddy! So talented, loving, generous, hardworking and an inspiration! We love him so much! Alabama was so sleepy as you can see in the pictures! There was too much going on for her to think of taking a nap!

This girl loves to get her hands on some paper!!! She crumples it, plays with it, and tries to eat it! Any kind of paper will do!

We had a fun time, now if only I can keep the house clean for a few weeks! haha

Cheeseburger Pie

EDITED TO ADD: I'm linking this post to Rhoda's Southern Hospitality Recipe Party! This is one of my favorite recipes, so I hope you enjoy!!! Check out the other recipes at http://southernhospitalityblog.com/menu-planning/

We ate at my parent's house on Wednesday night and Mama cooked one of my favorite meals! I got so many requests for the recipe on facebook that I thought I would share it with you!

Cheeseburger Pie
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs hamburger meat
3/4 cup ketchup
2 eggs
a small onion chopped (optional)
3 cups shredded cheese
2 deep dish pie crusts

Brown meat and drain fat. Mix meat, eggs, ketchup, onions and 2 cups of cheese.
Divide into two pie crusts.
Bake at 350 for 45 mins. Top with additional cup of cheese and bake until cheese melts.
Very easy, but oh so yummy!!!!!!

His Protection

Yesterday, I felt like the worst mother in the world! I accidently broke the #1 rule...never leave sharp objects around your children! Alabama was laying on my bed while I got dressed. I put on a dress but decided it was too long, so I cut about two inches off of it. I got up to get a slip out of my drawer and then I heard it.....the painful scream! When I turned around she had the huge sewing scissors in her hand. I quickly took them and scooped her up and tried to see what happened. I saw a cut below her right eye and the lid was red, too. She had her eyes closed as she was crying so I couldn't see if she had hurt the inside or not. I held her and told her I was so sorry, over and over again. I couldn't believe I had been so careless! Finally, she calmed down a little and I looked her over more and saw no sign of any damage to her eye! Praise the Lord! He is so faithful to cover our mistakes with His Grace and Mercy! His Grace is truly sufficient! We are so thankful for His protection over us. I gave Alabama some Tylenol and not long after the incident, she has completely recovered and still loves her Mama! :-)

, it Slow weekend....but now that I'm typing it, it sounds very busy.....

We had a pretty laid back weekend around here. Friday, my sister and I did a little shopping. We went to a consignment store that has high end items and found a couple great deals. Then, we had supper with our family at a Japanese restaurant which I had two gift certificates from Restaurant.com for. (yay!) Alabama was pretty good but wanted to reach for EVERYTHING! Which is very common these days! She kept trying to get my water glass so I let her drink from it and surprisingly she did get some in her mouth (but a lot on her clothes!). After we left, we went to Target and picked up a few things I had coupons for there. I got 7 frozen WW meals, 3 hand soaps, and a cute onesie for Alabama all for a total of .......$8!!!! yay me! Finally got home and went to bed just to get up bright and early on Saturday...yard sale day!!!! My favorite day of the week! haha! Adam went with me after some begging and so did my sister, Audra. Her first time! It was kind of a slow day again, but did find a few cute things afterall. I'll post them as soon as I change the batteries in my camera. We went to Michael's for breakfast, visted my Granny for a few minutes and went home to take a nap that never happened! I couldn't get that girl to go to sleep for anything! So I did a little cleaning, Adam did yardwork, and Alabama played most of the day. I finally got her to go to sleep by getting in the car to go to Wal-Mart. I needed some paint for some items I got on Saturday. (Pictures to come!) We went to eat supper at Bo and Kathie's. yummy. Watched a movie, fell asleep, went home and got in bed! I was sooo tired!
This morning, we were so late to church for practice. We start at 8:30 so I really need to get up at 6:30 to be there on time and have plenty of time to get ready. But anyway, we made it! haha. Adam was in Kids Alive today and about 10 minutes into the sermon, they paged me to come to the nursery. Alabama was hungry and fussing so I stayed and fed her and got her to sleep. We (and when I say We, I mean Adam!) cooked a Boston Butt, rice, gravy, and pasta salad for lunch and Mama brought squash and strawberry cheesecake. It was all sooo good! We went back to church tonight and heard a great message by Pastor Bill on prayer. We ate leftovers tonight, too. No eating out all day! wow! We're doing so good!