August Favorites!

I'm a little late getting this posted but I wanted to share my favorite things from the month of August!

Beauty!

1. e.l.f. nail polish remover pads

These nail polish remover pads were only $2 at Walmart and I bought them with the intention of using them when I travel so I didn't have to lug around a huge bottle of remover and some cotton pads. To my surprise I ONLY use these at home or away! They are awesome. When I'm using a dark color I use a pad for each hand but with a light color I can usually get away with only using one pad! They have lasted me a really long time and I'm so glad I bought them! 

2. Deborah Lippmann nail polish in It's Raining Men

This nail polish is always a favorite of mine. It is such a classic red, the brush is really nice, and I only need one coat to get an opaque color on my nails. I can't say enough great things about this polish. What makes it even better is that I got it online for sale at only $6.00 (regularly $18!). It is the only polish I have from this brand (because of the price tag) so I'm glad I was able to take advantage of great sale to try them out!

3. Clear Clinic Laboratories Vanished acne spot treatment

This is from an Ipsy bag a few months ago and I'm really loving it! One of my favorite parts is that it has doe foot applicator so I don't have to touch my face with my fingers to apply it! I love trying different spot treatments and this is a brand I'd have never tried otherwise if it weren't for my Ispy subscription!

4. Bare Minerals 5 in 1 bb Advanced Performance Cream eyeshadow

This is another Ipsy item that has become a daily-use product for me. I like using this as a base for my eyeshadows. I haven't tried using it alone (which I think is what it is meant for) but I have pretty oily eyelids so I set all cream products with a powder.

5. Revlon tweezers

I purchased these tweezers from Walmart a few years ago and I just absolutely love them. They are the best drugstore tweezers I've ever used. They grab the hairs so easily which makes plucking my eyebrows quick and easy!

Fashion!

Earrings from Walmart

I bought these earrings over the summer and wore the heck out of them in August. I love the colors and the style. I think they go with so much and I'm so glad I picked them up (and for only $5!)

Mint floral scarf from 3Brunettes Boutique

This was another fashion favorite for me in August. It is the perfect lightweight infinity scarf for summer! I purchased it through Jane.com but it was from the online store 3Brunettes Boutique.

Sandals from Walmart

I've been loving these sandals all summer long. They were $12 from Walmart and I think they are absolutely adorable! I love how the white makes my skin look a little bit tanner and how the silver details sparkle in the sun! They are comfortable and cute!

Household!

1. Bins from Dollar Tree

I have gone crazy re-organizing my house with bins from Dollar Tree! They have so many different shapes and sizes that I can find pretty much anything and everything I need for so inexpensive! The pink bin shown came in a 2 pack and the blue bin came in a 4 or 5 pack. They are so great! I definitely recommend checking out your local Dollar Tree for some inexpensive organizing tools!

2. Febreze Air Freshener with Gain

I fell in love with this scent from Febreze a few years ago when it first came out and I rediscovered it this past month. I put a few around my home and have been loving the fresh clean scent. I'm already in love with the original Gain scent so it didn't take much to convince me I needed the air freshener too!

3. OxiClean Dishwasher Detergent

I bought this detergent on a whim one day when it was on sale and had a $2 off coupon on the bottle and I'm so glad I did because I love it! You only need to use half the amount as other detergents and the dishes get cleaner! They sparkle, I'm serious! I love this stuff! I hope I can find it on sale again when I run out because I'm hooked!

4. Sprayway Glass Cleaner

My husband actually bought this cleaner a couple years ago and I have refused to use it because I've always been a loyal Windex fan but I caved and decided to try this stuff finally and I hate to say it... but... I think it is better than Windex. Way less streaky!

Food!

1. Dreyer's Outshine strawberry fruit bars

My husband and I love these popsicles (especially in the heat of August!). They have the best flavor (more like real fruit less like artificial candy) and there are pieces of real strawberries in them! It is delicious! We've also tried and loved pineapple & lime.

2. belVita cinnamon brown sugar Breakfast Biscuits

My sister introduced me to these breakfast biscuits and I've been hooked ever since. They are super easy to throw in my bag and bring to work for breakfast. They taste really good and are actually filling! I've tried other flavors but this is my favorite.

Pets!

1. Bixbi Daily Essentials Chicken Breast Jerky treats

These treats came in a Barkbox and our puppy loves them! They are healthy and made in the USA which I always look for in dog treats. Ruby has already eaten the whole bag!

2. Hartz Hairball Remedy plus chicken soft chews

These chews have been awesome for our long-haired cat who gets hairballs really easy (especially in the summer). Having the medicine in a soft chew form makes it really easy to administer too.

Music!

Hilary Duff- Oh yeah she's back. My 12 year old self freaked out in August over her new songs. :) I will love her songs no matter what.

My favorite country song in August was Drunk On a Plane by Dierks Bentley. 

It is such an upbeat fun song (despite the lyrics lol)

Memories!

August was such a busy month! The first half was fun family time and lots of doctor appointments. I got my wisdom teeth out on the last day of July and ending up going back to the dentist a few times because of complications. I'm happy to report my mouth is almost completely healed (finally! thank goodness) but it was all liquid and yogurt for a while there. Including on my 5 year wedding anniversary! (not the best timing for wisdom teeth removal but the dentist said it couldn't wait) My husband got me a brand new camera which was so sweet and such a surprise!

I also started going to a new doctor in August. She is up in the city so there were a lot of trips to the city for appointments and tests. And a lot of phone tag with the doctor's nurse! It wasn't fun at the time but looking back I'm just glad to have found an office I like!

We had a family reunion at the beginning of August so it was great to spend time with cousins and aunts and uncles that I don't see very often.

And I got to eat the best cheese fries ever with my favorite cousin :)

My BFF and I went to dinner at Macaroni Grill one weekend. I hadn't been for years and years so it was fun to go again. We had these amazing mac & cheese bites with a truffle dip. They were delicious. Then we went to Outback steakhouse for my favorite oreo shakes. They come in the cutest bottles and are hands down the best shake I've ever had in my life. It was really fun to have dinner at one place and a dessert somewhere else! We sat at the bar because we didn't want to wait 20 minutes for a table just to order dessert and we felt so funny at a bar surrounded by people drinking alcohol and we were drinking milkshakes... bahaha but it was so worth it! Afterwards we went to Target and wandered around for at least an hour. I love the store. I so wish I had one closer than an hour and a half away!

My husband and I decided it was time to put a new furnace in our house and to finally get A/C! My brother works for a heating/cooling company so he did the installation and we were able to get a really great discount! My brother came down 3 weekends in August so it was really fun getting to hang out with him AND one of those weekends his girlfriend and their 2 kids came down to spend the night which I absolutely loved! It was so fun playing with my nephew at the park and going out to lunch and to the store. And then getting to hold my sweet little niece! Gahh I just love them! 

And finally, Dollar Tree finally opened near my house which was so awesome and I've been like 5 times! I'm addicted. 

I hope you had a wonderful August!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Dollar Tree Haul! Bins & Containers, stickers, fall decor, cleaner & more!

A Dollar Tree just opened up in my area (the closest one for over an hour) and it is such a dangerous thing! I just can't stay away! :)

Here are some things I picked up on a trip after work one day (retail therapy, a good way to unwind)!

One of my favorite things from Dollar Tree so far has been all of the different organizers!

I know "they" say the smart thing to do is to figure out what you bins you need for a specific project first but I like having bins on hand and then finding places that need organizing. The bins are what inspire me so I like having them available. Someday maybe I will be organized enough to figure out the project first but for now I like the bins! :)

After going nuts in the container section I wandered up and down every single aisle of the store and found a few more things to pick up...

I'm in love with the stickers I found

I'm really in a sticker phase right now so it was exciting to find a bunch of cute stickers for only $1.00 each!

They had just started putting out fall decor when I stopped in. I found these really cute glittery pumpkins!

To be honest I think everything should have a little bit of sparkle to it :)

Another area I was really impressed with was their office supply section! They had great notebooks, calendars, sticky notes & I found some really cute patterned binder clips!

This was totally impulsive because I actually needed binder clips! :) How lucky that they are cute binder clips, huh?

The last thing I picked up was a 2 pack of the Dollar Tree magic erasers. I have heard so many people on YouTube talk about how great these work so I had to give them a shot! I haven't tried them yet but I'll definitely let you know if they work ('cuz $1 for 2 is a heck of a lot better than the name brand price)!

Those are all of the goodies! I'm so excited about what I found.

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

Target & Washi Tape Haul!

Happy Friday!

Today I'm sharing some goodies I picked up from Target and a whole bunch of washi tape I ordered online through www.jane.com!

I will start with the washi tape. I have a bit of an addiction to these little colorful rolls of tape. I don't know what but when I see them for sale on Jane for $1-$2 each I just can't resist picking up a few (or in this case a BUNCH). All but two of these rolls are from Shop Cherry Sprinkles on etsy. The blue banner roll (3rd in from the left) and the coral flowers on white background (3rd in from the right) are from Silent Poetry Arts on etsy. If you are looking for good deals on washi tape I recommend checking Jane.com regularly since their sales only last a few days.

I'm absolutely in love with all of the rolls I picked up. I love the colors and patterns and themes! Washi just makes me happy.... :) 

Now on to the fun things from Target.

I love shopping at Target but I rarely get to go because the closest one to me is over an hour drive. But a few weeks ago I went into the city for dinner with a friend and afterwards we decided to wander around Target. Here's what I found...

I see so many people on Instagram posting about the most adorable stationary supplies from Target's dollar section so as soon as we walked in the door I went straight for the dollar section. I found a couple cute pads of sticky notes.

Then in their office supply section I picked up these magnet clips from the up&up brand. I bought these last years in the same colors but different patterns so I was happy to pick up more that will coordinate with the ones I'm already using.

{tip: I bring these clips to work because they'll stick to the tower/modem thing of my computer & I can hang reminders and lists where I can see them easily without cluttering up the surface of my desk. If the tower of your computer sits on your desk pick up some magnets and utilize it as a magnet board!}

There aren't words to describe how much I love this pink and gold clipfolio I found in the school supply section of Target.

I just.... I just can't. It is beautiful. Adorable. I love the colors. I love the polka dots. And I actually needed a clipboard so why not make it the cutest clipboard known to man!?!?

Last but not least, some cleaning supplies. I watch a lot of Target hauls on YouTube and see so many ladies talk about their cleaners from brands I can't buy at WalMart so on my fun Friday night out with friend we went and picked out... cleaners.... :)

These both smell amazing. Their bottles are so dang cute. And they were only a few dollars each. I can't wait to start using them and see if they live up to all the hype!

That's everything I picked up from Target. I hope you enjoyed seeing those items!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo

Home & Craft Haul: Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, & Walmart

A couple weeks ago my husband and I spent our day off up in the city doing a little shopping! I want to share with you what I picked up!

First up is Dollar Tree! This was the first time I'd been to a Dollar Tree in years but I couldn't resist picking up some of the awesome bins I hear about all the time on YouTube to do some organizing in my home. Here are the bins I picked up...

I'm very excited for the bins on the far left because of their super convenient handles! And the three matching bins along the top have little plastic pieces that allow them to stack nicely on top of one another!

Hobby Lobby!

I went to Hobby Lobby in search of frames because I had ordered several prints from www.jane.com but didn't have frames to put them in yet. I lucked out because Hobby Lobby had all of their frames 50% Off!

I also got these adorable stickers for 50% off. I couldn't resist them.

I love the design on this frame and that it is off white and distressed! Totally my style!

I love the color and style of this frame. I think it looks really pretty with the white and gold print.

This frame is very simple and versatile with its smooth white edges. It feels like it is very nice quality which makes me even happier it was 50% off!

I had initially purchased this frame with the intent to spray paint it. I still might but I thought it looked nice just the way it is so I kept it.

WalMart

I only grabbed a few things from Walmart. They were both impulse buys but luckily they were CHEAP impulses!

The markers were $0.75 and I brought them to work! I couldn't pass up the burlap-esque sticker labels. I found these with the stickers for $2.00.

Here's a better look at them against a white background.

That's everything I picked up for now! I already have the pictures hung and I love the frames I picked out! Next project is the organizing!

xoxo

Budget-Friendly Decor & Organization (Before & After)

A month or so ago I got a $5.00 off coupon in the mail for Family Dollar. I hadn't shopped there in a while so I decided to stop in and check out their selection of bins for some organizing I wanted to do in my kitchen. I found exactly what I was looking for and then some! (I picked up some of their outdoor/patio decor.) 

The bins ranged in price from $1 - $3. The decor was $1 - $10 but they were on sale BOGO 1/2 Off. Then I used the $5 off coupon!

I need to preface the following "Before" photos by saying that I am embarrassed to post these on the internet! These were some real trouble spots in our kitchen. It is easy for clutter to take over if you don't have a functional organization system in place. I am happy to say I have accomplished that in these areas. These photos are over a month old but the areas still look like the "After" photos! Some times I put in place organization that doesn't work for us and soon the space clutters up again but this is working for us and makes it easy to control the mess! 

Take a look...

Spice cabinet: Corralling all of the seasoning packets! No matter how hard I tried to stack them all together neatly they always slipped down, fell over, and never ended back up where I had initialing placed them.

Before...

AFTER!

The small pink container is the perfect size for holding seasoning packets. From my tupperware drawer I grabbed a small container to hold the various sauce packets. Now this space is orderly and clutter free. When I need a spice packet I can easily grab the pink container, get what I need, and put it right back! 

The pink container came in a 3 pack for $1.00.

Kitchen Command Center cabinet: This portion of a shelf in the cabinet above my kitchen desk houses several items that we use in this area of our home or walking out the door. However, it piled up because there was no good way to keep them orderly sitting on the shelf.

Before... 

AFTER!

Another one of the pink bins holds everything together perfectly and again allows us to pull it out, get what we need, and put it all back right where it was. Nothing is falling all over and it allows us to easily see what is is in there!

Under the Kitchen Sink: This has always been a problem area of our home. We store so many bottles and cleaning products here that things were always pushed around, spread out, and chaotic looking.

Before... 

AFTER! 

One $3.00 bin allowed me to bring order to this messy cabinet! When I pull one bottle out I can see the empty spot it came from and put it right back. Nothing slides around or spreads out because each item goes right back into the bin. I put the short products in the front and the tallest items in the back so nothing gets lost!

Now to the other side of that same cabinet where I keep boxes of garbage bags, grocery bags we save and reuse, and large bottles of detergent.

Before...

AFTER! 

This $1.00 bin now holds the grocery bags (which I'm rolled up and tied to save space) and the extra garbage bags we have in the other sizes aside from our huge Costco box.

Here's what the whole cabinet looks like now...

I hated opening this cupboard before but now it makes me so happy! The best part is that it actually works for us! This area still looks the same even after a month of use!

The final area I have to show you is a shelf in our pantry we use to hold snacks such as chips, crackers, and granola bars. The boxes and packages were taking up so much room and quickly became a jumbled mess!

Before... 

AFTER! 

Look at this! LOOK! It makes such a huge difference! All I did was buy 2 clear bins for a $1.00 each (They came with lids but I'm not using them for this project so I have them stored away) and organize all of our snacks by throwing away the boxes and packages and putting everything in the bins! It looks 100 times better I think! Plus, it is so much easier now to keep track of what we have and what we are running low on. Before we never knew how much of something was left until the box was empty. I hated it! We don't buy the same snacks every week but I haven't had any problem making the different items fit together in the bins. I actually quite enjoy arranging all of them!

Now go pick up some cheap bins and organize that clutter in your house!

But before you go take a look at the cute decorations I picked up and how I'm using them!

Home Decor...

Teal Ceramic Solar Lantern (with solar top removed) 

This ceramic jar came with a cheap little solar lid on it. I didn't really think it would work and didn't like how it looked so I popped it out and am instead using it to hold a bottle of lotion in our guest bathroom! I was lucky that the lotion happened to fit. When it runs out maybe I will move the jar somewhere else. I could even put in some battery powered tea lights if I wanted to use it as a lantern! But for now I'm loving how it looks on the bathroom counter to hide the ugly bottle of some yummy smelling lotion!

I love when I find creative uses for items in my house! Who would have thought a cheap solar lantern would actually make a great lotion holder in the guest bathroom!?

Red & Blue glass candle holders

White ceramic solar lantern (with solar top removed) 

I bought another ceramic jar from the same line but in a different color and pattern. I again took off the lid but have this jar in an arrangement on my front porch along with two other jars I picked up. These glass jars were only a $1.00 each. They came in a variety of colors and seemed like great quality. I love the metal handles on them and think they would look cute with tea lights in them hanging on a hook. For now though, they live as decorations on my front porch!

White flower metal garden stake

Bronze solar lantern with candle 

The last items I picked up was the metal garden stake in the flower pot and the bronze lantern on the ground. I love this lantern. I think it has a timeless look to it and would go well with any kind of patio decor. The garden stake was only $1.00 and adds some interest to the potted Marigolds.

That's everything I picked up from my trip to Family Dollar! I hope you enjoyed seeing these items and how I'm using them in my home. 

I'll leave with a few photos of my silly kittens as I tried to work on this project...

My little NON-helpers

With my back turned she climbed into the bin. I thought if I picked up the bin and put it in the cabinet she would jump out...

I was wrong. She knows she's the boss around here.

xoxo