Monday Morning Musing 09/30/2013

Holy Mackerel was my weekend packed.  We had the yard sale and then NCState football game on Saturday.  This was the first game this season we had taken C and it was hotter then we had planned but he was a trooper for most of it. He has the N-C-State cheer down pat and I've heard it many times since the game ;)

 Then Sunday we spent the day in Spencer,NC for A Day out with Thomas.

I'm not sure how this works in other cities but it comes to our transportation museum here so we spent 4 hours riding Thomas, having lunch and looking at all the displays and exhibits.  The boys had a blast and did not fall asleep at all on the way home. I was kindof hoping they would but then that they wouldn't too so we could have an early bedtime.  They did go to bed not too early but without fuss however they were up pretty early for them today to.

Today starts our first real day of track out and we have no plans for the day.  Tuesday we are planning on meeting some friends to go to Hillridge Farms and if the government doesn't completely shut down we will head to the mountains this weekend.  I'm in a wait and see since it was saying that parks would be something that gets closed so I need to investigate and find out about Grandfather Mountain. Anyone know if its a state or a federal park?

I'm not expecting any boxes this week so it will be a slow one for those.  I could possible get my Julep but with there new shipping I don't think it will make it this week.  I would love to get one every week but having some breaks gives me a chance to get the stuff I do have put away and sorted.  They tend to stack up and I have to make a specific time to get them away.

So what are you guys up to this week?  Anything fun and exciting?  How was your weekend?

Jenny

Friday Phone Dump 09/27/2013

Time again to link up with Jenn over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for the weekly Friday Phone Dump.

Again a week where I didn't do much so we don't have many pictures.

I placed an order from Shutterfly on Monday night which was huge!!!  I managed to save $145 and only spent about $30 but what is really exciting is that everything has already shipped and the first package arrived today.  I can't wait for the rest to get here but with todays order I'm all set for scrapping for the foreseeable future. Over 300 pictures will do that for me.

Yes I took a picture of my dinner the other night ;) Doesn't it look yummy?  I had a ton of veggies from my produce box last week so I sauteed them all up with some chicken and holy mackerel it was yummy.

I had some Disney work to do Wednesday morning and I was sitting at the desk.  I guess it doesn't matter how big the house is since C wants to be right there with me. He was very happy hanging out on the floor while I made some reservations and did some quoting.  He really likes when I place the Disney hold music on speaker phone so we can sing along to the songs while we wait.

Monday we headed to the park to meet some of the other mommies and kids from your neighborhood.  C loves Thomas Brooks Park and the huge sandbox there.  I really need to take him there more often to play.

So that's it. Did you do anything exciting this week? What does your week look like in pictures?

Jenny

Friday Randomness 09/27/2013

Hmm I may need to make this  a weekly post and if I decide to then I'll make a button for it but for today you just get me writing. :)

• Uhm how did I not know that Peter Facinelli was going to be on Glee?  Granted I don't watch Glee all the time and I can't record it since it conflicts but I got very excited seeing him last night. Does anyone know if he will be on more episodes?  I love me some Peter from back in the day when he was on Fastlane. Love that show.

• Just got an extra $10 off $30 to Bath and Body Works if I check out with Paypal.  The coupon isn't what got me so excited but  the paying with paypal.  I really need to see what other stores you can pay with paypal for.  Does anyone have a list of stores?
• What has I thinking having a yard sale?  I love having a yard sale but the prep sucks. I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon sorting things into bins and making labels for the bins so that I can just set those out. People will have to dig through that's just how it's going to happen.  This was the start of my sorting yesterday.  These have already been taken over to the neighbors house plus more so I will keep going today and see what else I can come up with.

• After the last two days with N I have no idea what I'm going to do with him for 3 weeks.  He started yesterday with his first not wanting to go to school day but he has had an absolute meltdown each night.  I guess its good he has a break so he can have a couple off days before he gets back into the grind for the next 9 weeks.  Then with the Christmas holiday he will be home for about 4.5 weeks.  Help me now. LOL

So that is randomly where my mind is this morning. Do you have a huge random amount of odds and ends in your mind too?

Jenny

Thursday Thoughts 09/26/2013

Linking up with Jenn again for some Thursday Thoughts:

• Did anyone watch Agents of SHIELD? I did and really liked it.  I can't wait to see where it goes and how many little Joss Whedon little call outs there will  be. In the first episode alone there was two alumni and multiple lines that just screamed one of his past shows.  Love it!!!
• Season 2 of Revolution starts tonight and I still have 4 episodes to watch in season 1.  M and I are working our way though them and I still really like this show too.
• I really need to start decorating for Fall/Halloween and I love when its done but I'm just not motivated to actually do it.
• I sent in Ns first field trip form. He's going to a pumpkin farm when they come back from track out. I even signed up to chaperone but I did ask him first. He said I could come and check it out this time. LOL
• This morning was the first day that N said he didn't want to go to school and just wanted to stay home with me :(  2 more days Mr Man and then you are home for 3 weeks. :)
• Crazy busy weekend for us.  Yard sale on Saturday morning, then we are going to the home show (I won a contest so I have free tickets and some other freebies to pick up there) and then onto the NCState football game.  Then on Sunday we are going to Day out with Thomas. The boys are going to have so much fun.

What are you randomly thinking about today? 

Jenny

So What Wednesday 09/25/2103

Time for another link up over at Life After I Dew for So What Wednesday.  
This week I'm saying So What If...

• I went to Target yesterday and only spent about $7. Yes you read that right $7. I just walked around and looked and didn't buy anything.
• I spent $30 on my Shutterfly order Monday night I saved $145!!! I have so many pictures and goodies coming I can't wait. Plus some of them have already shipped so they will be here anyday.
• I still haven't planned our trip for track out that starts next week. I think we've decided on going to the mountains but I need to find out where we want to stay.
• While planning peoples Disney vacations I just want to hide in their suitcases and go with them. :)
• I'm behind on so many tv shows still but I watched SHIELD last night so that I'd know what was going on when people talked about it to.

So what are you saying So What to this week?  Are you linking up?

Jenny

My Paper Pumpkin September 2013

Here it is the third day of my My Paper Pumpkin card-a-palooza.  Have you checked out the last two posts here and here? This set just came last week and I couldn't wait to make it.  I'm really loving these larger words that have come in a couple of the kits.

Sorry about the glare on this one. Its hard with the plastic wrap still on there.  As usual you get all of the supplies you need to make a project in about 30 minutes.  This months kit included two stamps, the midnight muse ink spot, some of the Naturals designer buttons, and some white twine.

Here is the card from the sample.  A very cute card by itself and I can't wait to use the Wahoo on a scrapbook page.  I was also excited that a file folder card was used as they are really Hot right now in card making and this is a great way of showing them off plus I'm obsessed with chevron so the little chevron labels really jump out to me.

My second take on the card.  I grabbed my new goto stamp set Gorgeous Grunge and added it to the background.  Just a note but pay attention to what color you use when doing your grunge. As my friend Michelle over at 3 Monkeys Throwing Around some Paper found out certain colors just aren't right.

My third card I cut off the green stripes at the bottom of the file card and added some of the Stampin' Up chevron ribbon.  This ribbon is awesome and I've been pulling it out alot.

And finally I really mixed it up on the one.  I pulled out my chevron border punch and used it along the bottom. Since you can see through I then lined the inside of the card with some green cardstock.  I also added some of the new candy dots to the file tab for an extra punch of color.

So what do you think of this most recent My Paper Pumpkin kit?  Are you loving the Wahoo as much as I am?  Interested in My Paper Pumpkin then you can go through my link and sign up. My Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription kit form Stampin' Up that costs $19.95 a month for all of the supplies to create a project in about 30 minutes.  Above I have used some of the other Stampin' Up products that I already own to mix it up and show how versatile the kits are.

I can't wait until next month to see what they send out for us to create. My hope is that I don't get this far behind in the future and I will get the kits created and posted in a more timely manner. We'll see how that works out for me ;)

Happy crafting,

Jenny

disclaimer: I am still a Stampin' Up demo so I will get a percentage if you order through my link but as always all opinions are my own.

My Paper Pumpkin August 2013

Are you ready for day 2 of my My Paper Pumpkin card marathon?  If you missed Day 1 you can see it here.

I really had a lot of fun doing Augusts kit and mixed it up with some of the new products that I just got.

The bicycle immediately called to me and I knew that I would like this one.  Having boys I know that I will be able to use this stamp over and over.

Here is the card from the sample except that I had to add a little bling to my wheels.  My friend Deb (hi Deb!!!) was working on this set too and she added bling to hers and I knew I had to do it to mine too.

Next up I flipped the card on its side and used a faux washi stamp from the Tag it Set as my middle banner on the right.

So do you want to see the rest of the Tag It Set?  Yeap I used alot of the choices on this one.  I stamped the ones on the background and then stamped the chevron on some scrap paper and cut it out for the bicycle to rest on.  I also fussy cut out the bicycle so that it would pop up off the page.  The background for the sentiment is actually from the July kit  and the sentiment itself is from the intro kit.

And here is the fourth card that I made with the set.  I recently got the Six Sided Sampler set which included the stamp set and the matching hexagon punch so with the strips on this card I just had to pull it out. So fun and cute.

So what do you think of this months kit? I get very happy looking at the bicycle and it can be used for so many things. As before My Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription box kit from Stampin' Up for $19.95 a month and you will get the supplies you need to make a project in about 30 minutes.  The extra products I've used are ones I had already purchased but if you are interested in any Stampin' Up products you can click my link above or the one I have over on the right. Please send me any questions you have as I love to talk crafting and stamping.

Jenny

disclaimer: Again I am still a Stampin' Up demo so I will get a percentage if you purchase through me.

Monday Morning Musings 09/23/2013

Hmm how can it be Monday already. I'm not sure where the weekend went to. It was gone so fast.  I know this week will blow by since its the last week of Ns first quarter and starting next week he'll be tracked out for 3 weeks.  He is ready for the break and is making all kinds of plans for mommy/N time. Not sure where he thinks C will be but he has plans.

I spent Saturday with my girls and worked on my My Paper Pumpkin kits. I will three days of posts this week with my creations. I posted the first one this morning. Go here to check it out.  This was from the June kit.

I was totally inspired by Jenn over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom who showed that she organized her kids books by color and did a little purging of my own on Friday. I only tackled the small shelf in the family room but I'm loving how it looks.

 Before

After

Don't you just love it.  The top picture doesn't show it but there is a huge overflowing pile on the side of the bookshelf up there too and I was able to get it much smaller and more manageable.  I also have a big box of to go books too.  

C and I are heading to the park in a little bit today.  Should be a beautiful first full day of fall here in NC.  Other then that we have no plans for the day.

Not sure on boxes this week. I don't think I'm getting any.  I thought I was getting my Wantable today but it came on Saturday instead.  In case you missed it you can see the review here.  It was another great month.  Oh and as much as I wanted to skip Julep this month I loved loved loved the Oct colors so I did resist doing the upgrade but I got ordered the It girl collection with a couple of add-ons.  Those should be here next week or so with the new shipping method.

So that's my Monday Random Ramblings.  How was your weekend? What are you up to this week?

Jenny

disclaimer: As always there are some of my links up there. You know the drill you order through them and I get points for future stuff. :)

My Paper Pumpkin June 2013

Yeap you read that right I am that far behind in making my My Paper Pumpkin kits. That is all changed now and I spent Saturday with my girls and finished all my boxes :)  This makes me very happy and I now have a nice little stash of cards.  Who wants one?  If you send me a message with your address you never know which card you will get back in the mail.  So lets get to the goodies from July.

First look. The My Paper Pumpkin kits come in a bright orange "pumpkin" box.  You will know what you are getting when you see this box. I love the fun color.

All the supplies you need come in the box. In your first box you get an acrylic block for the stamps. You will then use that block each month.

This is the sample card that they showed on the package. Very cute and honeycombs are in right now.

Here is my second take on the card. I swapped out the hearts for arrows from the May My Paper Pumpkin  You can see that one finished here.

I then decided to do something even different and use some of the leftover paper from the May kit since the colors coordinated and popped them up through the openings.  I liked it so much I did two this way.

Sorry about that second photo it came out fuzzy in the couple that I took for some reason.  The inside of these cards is really cute then too and you can write around the pop-ups.

So what do you think of the July kit?  I thought it was really cute and you can use the saying for many different things.

Like what you see and want to check more out?  You can go to my link at My Paper Pumpkin and sign up or get more information. The basics are that for $19.95 a month you get a box of Stampin' Up products to make a project in about 30 minutes. So far we've done cards, a mini album, banners (which I turned into a scrapbook page) and more cards.  Plus the bonus that you then have some cute stamps and ink spots that you can use over and over on your other projects.

Stay tuned the next couple of days for August and Septembers My Paper Pumpkin boxes. 

Jenny

disclaimer: I am still a Stampin' Up demo so I will get a percentage if you purchase from me however as always my opinions are my own and I personally created the cards you see above.

Wantable Sept 2013 box review

I was beyond surprised when I got a text saying my Wantable box was delivered yesterday while I was out scrapping with some friends. I had tracked it on Friday and it said delivery on Monday so yea for early boxes. That so rarely happens.  I'm pretty sure its because they ship USPS first class and not one of the hybrid shippings with someone else so it goes straight from them to me and no stops in between. Love that.

I remembered to take a picture of the box this month. :)  There box is such a great size and I do reuse alot of my sub boxes so if you are every getting a small something from me be on the look out.  I'm not sure I told you last month but I love the packing in these boxes. They are egg crate style foam and not loose stuff so my items fit nicely in there and don't rattle around.  That is really important in a makeup box since you don't want your packed products cracking up.

First look. I was excited. Wantable sends great products and I didn't recognize any of the brands in there which is always a plus too. I love trying out new things and since I almost always have my little men with me wondering around a makeup store is not something I get to do often. This box really helps me with that. They have the most detailed questionnaire out there that I've seen and you are more likely to get things you like and will never get things you dislike. They also have an easy way to return your box if you just don't love it which I think is awesome.  Here is my like/dislike list from this month. When you are taking the survey there are questions within each of the categories but this is the overall list.

I may go in now that I've gotten a couple boxes and tweak it a little but so far I think its been pretty spot on.

Now onto the goodies this month.

• 29 cosmetics D'vine Mascara ($26) - This is a conditioning mascara and mascara is one of my go tos when I'm going out I will add this to my rotation.
• Manna Kadar blush in the Big "O" ($19)- besides loving the name of this color ;) (I mean really makeup has some of the best names around. I need that job sometime coming up with names for products.) I'm a blush girl and I wear it everyday. This color is pick without being too pink and I need a more pink then brown blusher so already loving this.
• Michael Marcus eyeshadow in Uptight  ($24)- again another awesome name but not me at all. LOL   I do like this color as its a little browny and will go great for an everyday look. It says this is a refillable eyeshadow compact so I'll have to look into that.
• Michael Marcus eye liner in Prism ($20) - Again eyeliner is one of my dressing up gotos and this is a bronzy glimmer color that is Awesome. I've said before but my eye are really dark brown and I have full dark lashes so I do alot of browns and this has a hint of fun to it. I can't wait for a night out to play with this one.
• Skiin instant skin tightener & line filler sample - this says it works instantly and my skin isn't getting any younger so I'll add this into my trials and see how it works.

So what do you think?  Based on my likes this is right up my ally and I'm excited to play with them all. Wantable box is $36 a month and if you don't love it you can return it. They also have an easy way to skip a month if you need/want to. This was the second month of my special boxes so I got it for about $18 and the value was over that at $89 so even if I had paid full price I would have made out plus I get some great new products to try and see how I like them. 

Jenny

disclaimer: You got it that is my Wantable link up there and I get credits when you join through it for me to get more boxes. :)

Friday Phone Dump 09/20/2013

Time again to link up with Jenn over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for the weekly Friday Phone Dump.


So if you saw my So What Wednesday this week you saw that I was overflowing my nail polish basket. I went looking around the house today and saw we had some empty containers so I did a transfer. Don't you think this is better ;)  All of the supplies are in here now but there isn't much leftover room so I may need to do a small purge or put the supplies in one tote and the polish in another.

Oh C!!!  You know I have a ton on of photos that could go under that heading. This week he decided to make a book nook and oh the mess but he was so happy and was "reading" books so I hated to disrupt him.  He has also taken to going Woohoo or I did it and throwing his hands up. Its really cute.  His other favorite is to get all excited over just about anything and start clapping and saying yea. For example the other morning it was " Daddy bought new toothpaste. Yea!!!" and then he claps. So stinkin' cute.

The weather this week was just awesome.  It was fall like most days and the evening were OMG amazing.  We managed a couple of walks and on our second one the new bridge over the lake near our house was open. You would have thought we hit the mothership N was so excited.  We are now connected to everything. LOL

State had their football game on Thursday night.  Unfortunately they didn't win but M went with his mother and his brother while I stayed home with the boys.  Well we had a 31 party to go for next door so it wasn't all bad for me. ;)  I will have to do a picture of my goodies when they get here.  However the lady you sits behind us took their picture and sent it my way. 

So that is what my week looked like. What were you up to this week?

Jenny

POPSugar Musthave Sept 2013 Box Review

After what feels like forever my POPSugar Musthave box came today. I of course had seen all the spoilers but I like to try and withhold my opinions until I get the items in my actual grubby little hands.

First look and I love how its always so well put together. There was even a little air package in there this month to hold things in place.  According to the informational booklet this months box is all about Doing it Yourself. I love this theme since I like to think of myself as a DIYer but someone my projects just never seem to get finished. :(

• Must Have Home: Barr-Co. Original Scent Reed Diffuser - I never seem to buy these for myself but I do love them and this has a really nice scent to it. My house is quickly starting to smell like boys ;) so I'll be setting this out soon
• Must Have Fashion: P.S. - You're Invited by Erica Domesek - I can't wait to dig into this book and decide on my first project. Who wants to start a group for all of us to make these great creations?
• Must Have Home: Rifle Paper Co. Coaster Set - I'll be the first to say that we just don't use coasters at our house. I've given up on my coffee table making it past the preschool years and all the boys managed to do with the coasters I had was pitch them around so I took them away. LOL I will be setting these aside and pass them on to someone without little ones running around.
• Must Have Beauty: Kitsch Headbands - HaHa these may be my favorite item in the box. I'm obsessed with these hairbands and I've not tried the headband version but I'm sure I will love them. My hair is in desperate need of some attention and with the weather in the fall I feel like I'm constantly messing with it. These will help keep it out of the way while I'm working around the house.
• Must Have Fashion: Shoptiques - A $25 gift card for shoptiques. How could you go wrong. I've only done a quick look but it does appear you can get items that are less then $25 so even if nothing that I'm loving then I'll grab a gift. I need to spend some time looking around more.
• Must Have Food: That's It. Bar - I've not tried this kindof bar yet but can you really do bad with fruit and fruit only?
• Must Have Fitness: Sharkies - Well I've been slacking in my exercising but I know M has some all day shows coming up so I'll let him use these since he'll be on his feet walking around.

So What do you think? Personal preference doesn't wait this box as high as last months but it is a nice box by itself.  If you are interested you can check it out POPSugar Musthave and if you use code REFER5 you'll get $5 off your first month. The October boxes are already sold out so if you want to sign up go ahead and get on the list for the November box.

Jenny

disclaimer: Yes that is my referral link up there and for every two of you up there I'll get a free box.  As always you get all my personal opinions and randomness as I'm looking through my box.

Thursday Thoughts 09/19/2013

Linking up with Jenn again for some Thursday Thoughts:

• I'm really loving this fall like weather here in NC in September but I have a strange feeling that we'll pay for it in Oct or have some crazy heat in Nov or something like that :(
• Can you believe who won Big Brother?  I watch it every year and the final three was not at all who I was expecting. Of the three there I guess he did deserve to win and I liked the answer to his questions like he was the mastermind behind everything just no one but him knew it. LOL 

• As I've been telling you guys I've been catching up on Revolution and Under the Dome.  I've decided I like both shows but Revolution definitely has more action then Under the Dome does.
• I've recorded Sleepy Hollow this week but haven't watched yet but found out today that its filmed here in Wilmington, NC. Does anyone else try shows filmed locally just to support the area?  I do it all the time and some I keep up with but others I just can't do. LOL
• Met M for lunch yesterday and he, C and I made a quick trip to Target.  I grabbed some back to school deals and some other things we really didn't need. ;) I said we needed to run in for the boys vitamins and Mayo and walked out with over $100 worth of stuff but really can you walk out of Target spending less then $100? This was the back to school clearance stash last night.

• And then while making some returns while C was in preschool this morning I had a few minutes so ran into another Target and scored again.  We are still working with N on his writing so whenever I can find those aids on sale I jump. These will be great for us to work on while he is tracked out in a couple weeks.

What are you thinking about today?  Have you had a good week so far?

Jenny