Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Fall Mantel

Happy Wednesday!  The week is half way over and the weekend will be here in the blink of an eye!  Blink!  Well, almost! 

I have gotten my Fall Mantel done and pretty pleased.  We will be getting a cold front this weekend.  So instead of 104 degrees it will be a cool 89 degrees.  Hey, it is cooler.  That is just Central Texas weather!

Back to the mantel.  I wanted to do something really simple and not spend alot of money.  I think I accomplished both those goals. 

Let's start with the things I already had on hand.  The sign, doggie plate, pumpkin and frame.  The doggie plate is kind of put there in memory of our dog who we had to put down last month.  He had been with us for over 10 years.  When he was younger, he looked alot like the dog on the plate.  It is up there as a happy reminder of him and how wonderful he was to us.


 I printed out a Fall Bucket List from Pinterest(http://howtonestforless.com/2012/08/17/fall-bucket-list-free-printable/) and placed it into this red frame with some tan scrapebook paper behind the list.



The orange vases I picked up at our new Goodwill Store.  I got both for $4.31.  I then got some twigs from the back yard and popped them inside.

So there is our Fall Mantel.  Simple and inexpensive just like I wanted.


Linked up with:
52 Mantels
The Shabby Nest
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Not JUST A Housewife
Two Yellow Birds Decor
The NY Melrose Family
Shaken Together
Six Sisters' Stuff
SNAP
The Taylor House
The Gunny Sack
Sugar Bee Crafts
Crafty Texas Girls
Centsational Girl
My Turn(for us)
a bowl full of lemons
Southern Lovely

Monday, September 3, 2012

A Grocery Shopping We Will Go

Wow!  That is a long title for a post, but I like it. 

I don't know about you, but going grocery shopping is one of my least favorite things to do.  I love it when I get home and have everything put away, but just getting to the store and doing it seems like such a big pain. 

I have come up with a few things that seem to work for us and make grocery shopping a little less painful for our family. 

The first thing we always do is to make a list.  Whether you need 5 items or 50 I highly recommend having a list.  This way you can plan a budget, plan your meals, snacks, school lunches and never forget those household items that would always slip your mind if you did not write it down.



Second, I look for coupons.  Now, I am not a big coupon person.  We like to have certain brands and there are some that I have never seen a coupon for in my life.  But I am not willing to get some other brand, so I deal with it!  We do most of our shopping at HEB or Central Market.  HEB always has great deals and when we want a change of pace we head to a Central Market.  HEB does sell some Central Market brands and we do purchase these often.  Anyway, I clip coupons when I really see something I want or I just get lucky and find the brand I want.  I have a little coupon organizer I use to keep the coupons and I keep this in my purse.

Thirdly, we use reusable bags to put our groceries into.  I highly recommend keeping some in your car and some in your home.  I keep mine hanging on the kitchen door.  I haven't yet put some in my van, but I have talked about doing it forever!  Remember, I am a procrastinator!



When at the store, we move from left to right.  When we have made it all the way right, we are at the produce.  Next comes deli and meats, back of store is dairy.  Lastly we hit the frozen food which is at the front.  However your store is set up, have a plan of moving through it.  I like that we go back through the store for dairy that way if we forgot something on an aisle we get to pass it one more time.  This method really does save time and planning ahead always saves time!


When we are ready to check out, we place everything on the belt into groups.  Makes bagging for us or whoever is working there so much easier and faster.

Well there you go!  Hope some of these ideas will help make your grocery shopping easier and quicker.  I forgot to mention, having the kids help out in any way makes for a happier shopping experience as well!


1.  List
2. Coupons
3. Re-usable Bags
4. Plan for going through store
5. Group items at check out
6. Happy Dance!

So get out there and have fun shopping!


Linked up with:
Crafty Texas Girls
The NY Melrose Family
Not JUST a Housewife
Two Yellow Birds Decor
The Gunny Sack
The Taylor House
Sugar Bee Crafts
Cheerios and Lattes
Delightlful Order
SNAP
The REAL Housewives of Riverton

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Pony Party

Well, our baby girl will turn 4 tomorrow.  Still cannot believe she is that old.  It seems like  the time is just flying by us.  We celebrated yesterday with a pony party at Kiddie Acres.  This is a place in Austin, Tx. that has vintage rides for little kids and ponies too.  All the girls got pink cowgirl hats and pink slap bracelets to take home.   Here are a few pics from the afternoon. 


Homemade Banner using scrape book paper, stickers, brown colored pencil, ribbon, horse stamps and twine.

The birthday girl on a pony.  Can you see how red she is in the face?  It was major hotttt!

Vintage kiddie airplane ride.  The propellers spun!


Carousel and kiddie ferris wheel.

Pony Cake.

Cowgirl Hat Cupcakes.


 
Happy Birthday to our Little Cowgirl.