$1.99 Find From IKEA

About three years ago, I took a trip to IKEA with my now husband. I didn't buy very much except this plant for $1.99.

Three years later it is still growing strong!

Deals, Deals, Deals

If you have read some of my older posts, you know how much I love a good deal. These are some of my most recent "good deals."

Saltine Crackers for .49 cents a box!

Grape Jelly for .53 cents a Jar!

Thank you Target coupons and clearance!

Our Camping Trip: Detailed Through Pictures, Captions, and a Video

Last weekend, my husband and I went on a quick one night camping trip.

The campground and canyon store

Our campsite name

Our private campsite waterfall

Tay assembling the two person tent.

Tent under overhang of rocks.

Our personal waterfall

Our view as we looked up from our campsite

Our campsite from above

Tay collecting firewood

Our wonderful fire.

Dinner: Hobo Patties (hamburger meat, Dales sauce, water, spices, potatoes, carrots, and onions) YUM!

A rainbow at breakfast

The real waterfall in the canyon

Tay exploring the canyon

Moss and water on bolder

Roots of tree growing on bolder

Canyon basin and stream

It was a wonder trip.

It Finally Came!!!

For those new to reading my blog, I received a free subscription to Cooking Light for Christmas. I signed-up online to get the magazine around the middle of January. I waited and waited, but there was no sign of it. I had given up all hope that it would come about three weeks ago.


And then with no warning, it arrived in my mailbox yesterday!!! I was so overjoyed with this simple item that I practically ran into the house hopping up and down.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Our KitchenOut with the old!

We recently bought all new kitchen appliances!

In with the new!

Disclaimer: This post was not written as a complaining tool. I am very thankful that our appliances worked for as long as they did. I like to think of this post as sharing the comical events that have happened to us over the last several months.

We moved into our 1950's home a little over 7 months ago. Our old appliances were just that, OLD! They worked! But, let me give you a description of how they worked.

The Dishwasher

Out with the old!

The dishwasher was the best item in the kitchen. It washed the dishes, except it sounded like a freight train coming through our kitchen, living room, basically the entire house. You know the type of dishwasher I'm speaking of, the only time you turn it on is when you're going to bed or leaving the house. Oh, and the front/face fell off about 3 months ago, but no worries we glued it back on except it fell off again.

In with the new!


The Stove/Oven

Out with the old!

The second best/worst item was the stove/oven. The stove cooked/baked our food. How do you all like your casseroles cooked: done, well done, or black? Over the last 7 months, I have learned how to bake with this stove. First, turn the temperature at least 5-10 degrees lower than the recipe recommends. Second, turn the item halfway through the baking process. Third, if there is a topping, such as cheese, always add it at the very end therefore insuring that it will still resemble cheese when finished.

Oh, and I will briefly mention the midnight, 2 a.m., 4 a.m. wake up calls when the timer on the stove/oven decided it was hungry and needed to be feed. Lets just say that I was not at all amused. Nothing seemed to shut it up. I even went so far as trying Duck tape. In the end, I had to close our bedroom door and turn up the noise maker. It was still buzzing when I woke and when I went to work. On my way home from work, I had visions of beating it with a bat until it stopped buzzing. Fortunately for it, my sweet sweet husband had come home earlier from work and cut the wire to the timer!

In with the new!


The Refrigerator

Out with the old!

The third worst item in the kitchen was the refrigerator. Ok here's the tale of the tarnished refrigerator. The refrigerator/freezer kept our food cold, very, very, very cold! It loved it's job of keeping food cold. Except I think it loved being a freezer more than a refrigerator. The freezer portion of the refrigerator, being jealous, would leak water into the refrigerator and then it would freeze. Therefore not only would huge chucks of ice build up on the bottom of each shelf, all of the items in the refrigerator would freeze: milk, cokes, and vegetables!

But the last straw was...the day that the refrigerator portion decided to retaliate against the freezer portion. I opened the frig door one morning, poured my milk and it tasted cool, but not cold. When I came home from work, the air in the frig smelled stale. I suppose the frig decided to freeze some water in the openings that blows cold air down into the frig portion. I'm sure the frig was only trying to when the frig/frez battle, but in the end, I think we were the only ones that won.

In with the new!

We love our new appliances so much. The dishwasher is so quiet, the stove bakes evenly (and the timer works), and I have not seen any water build up in the refrigerator.

Thank you Lord for new appliances!

Stocking Up at the B &B

My sister-in-law and her mother introduced me to a local 'bent and dent' back in January and I instantly fell in lust for this wonderful store. I made another visit to the B&B last week. I wish I had thought to take a picture of the store (warehouse). It is nothing glamorous. Actually, I learned to bring wet wipes for my hands due to the overwhelming amount of dust and dirt on the boxes. However, the appearance of the building and the cleanliness is instantly overlooked when I see those orange price stickers.


The stickers read wonderful news such as: Covergirl powder $2.00, Zicam cold remedy $2.00, Covergirl eyeliner $1.00, Planters nuts 2 for $1.00, Baked Beans 28 oz. $.79, Starbucks coffee $3.99, colorful party napkins 3 packs of 20 for $1.00, Nature Valley granola bars $1.49, Covergirl lipstick $1.00, Crest toothpaste $1.00, Bertolli extra virgin olive oil 25.5 oz. $4.99, and Ouchless hairbrush $.50. Most of the items are marked down 50 to 75% off grocery store prices.


My sweet husband suggested we stock up on items we know we will use. So that is just what I did. I bought 10 boxes of cereal, 11 cans of whole tomatoes, 5 Covergirl powders (when you find a deal that good you must buy it all), 5 boxes of granola bars, 3 boxes of oatmeal, 4 pounds of macaroni noodles, 2 100 fl. oz. of laundry detergent, 10 cans of tomato sauce, 3 boxes of pizza crust, 2 boxes of barley..........etc.

I spent a little over 3 happy hours in the store sifting through the piles and piles of boxes trying to find the furthest away dates on the boxes. I estimate these items would have cost around $300-350 dollars at the local grocery store. My cost at the B&B, $142.40.

Easter Sunday

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus."
Luke 24:1-3

Tay's Pastime

My wonderful husband has so many hobbies (he is very good at entertaining himself). One of his favorite current hobbies is XBOX 360. He could play for hours, however he is really good at balancing time with pieces of plastic/metal and time with me.

I love you my little XBOXaholic!

Mom's Candy

My mom absolutely loves this Sweedish candy from IKEA. She has to buy a bag every time we go. I don't blame her it is a "Daim" good candy.

If you don't already know, mom has started her own blog. Please visit A Little Birdie Told Me So to meet a fun creative inspiring woman, otherwise known as my mother.

My "Not so baby" Baby Brother's Birthday

My baby brother turned 24 on St. Patrick's Day. I suppose turning 24 should mean that you are not a "baby" brother, but to me he will always be the younger brother.


He requested a German Chocolate Cake. Having never made this type of cake, I turned to "The Joy of Cooking" cookbook. I used a store bought cake mix, but I used the above cookbook to make the icing. I have to admit that besides a lot of stirring, the recipe was easy to follow and tasted very rich.


Happy Birthday, baby brother. I love you!!!

Dinner Party for Eight

This past weekend, my husband and I hosted a dinner party for eight at our house.


Realizing that I did not have real plates to feed eight people, I purchased these fun white with black swirls, matching plates and napkins.


I made some simple appetizers including: baguette rounds with melted butter and parmesan cheese, toasted French bread with roasted garlic spread, and French bread with slices of roasted red bell peppers. For the main course, I made lasagna. The other dinner party guests brought a Caesar salad, dinner rolls, and a strawberry cake with a strawberry cream cheese icing and fresh strawberries.

The food was wonderful and the company was refreshing!

Inspireco---Surprise Easter Eggs

If you have not visited Inspireco, you must visit soon. Inspireco recently posted an Easter project that was so cute and creative, I instantly went out and bought the material to make my own "Surprise Eggs."

For the simple directions click here.


For the text/paper strips, I looked around the house and found an old forgotten Cliffs Notes on Pride and Prejudice, which is one of my favorite stories. This makes looking at the eggs extra special. However, I do realize Pride and Prejudice has nothing to do with Easter. I suppose scraps from the Bible would have been more appropriate. I will have to think harder about the true meanings behind my future craft projects.



Inspireco used lovely ribbon, jewels, and buttons on her eggs. I found pastel paper flowers on sale at Hobby Lobby and then chose matching ribbon that was also on sale (I love sales). I already had the buttons on hand.