Thrift Store Shopping

I'm not here to tell you I'm a pro at thrift store shopping, because it's something I just recently started doing. For shoes/clothing, that is. I know, it sounds kind of weird, and a few months ago I would probably have never have thought of shopping at Goodwill.

But you know what? I have found brand spankin new clothes shoved on those racks... and name brand too! And it saves a ton of money. 

Just to let you know, I don't get ALL of my clothes at thrift stores... not even close. 

One of my good friends loves thrift store shopping, and she kind of got me hooked on it. I have always been kind of leery of buying clothes from places like Goodwill and Salvation Army (or "Salvy" as Aberdonians call it), and I usually keep my hand sanitizer close. I'm kind of a germ-a-phobe, but we'll save that for another post.

Every time I see my friend, she is dressed cute. I'll usually ask her where she got at least one portion of her out fit, and she almost always tells me, "Goodwill!" 

Seriously!? Maybe I need to give this a try... so I did :)

I'm here to give you a few tips about thrift store shopping that I have found that work for me. Remember, I'm no expert, just things that I have learned:

1. Set aside plenty of time. One reason for this is because I like to take my time when looking through the racks. Which brings me to point number 2.
2. Look through every piece. When I go thrifting by myself or with my friends, we literally look through every. single. shirt on the medium racks. You never know what gem could be hiding between those icky granny sweaters!
3. Don't skip the shoes. It's easy to breeze past all of the shoes because, quite frankly, some of them are SCARY gross. I recently found a BRAND NEW pair of New Balance shoes that I wear for working out, and I love them!
4. Go frequently. Last week I went twice to Goodwill. Once to just browse, the other was to get a shirt for my Halloween costume. I found that even in a matter of a few days, lots of new stuff had been added. 
5. If you aren't sure about it, leave it. A typical rule of thumb when you're shopping, "If you don't love it on the hanger, you'll never wear it. I think this especially rings true when thrifting because I know that I always think to myself, "It's only $4, I might as well..." Wrong. Although something may be cheap and you think you might eventually find something to wear it with, if you don't love it, leave it. 
6. Wash, wash, wash. Wash those clothes. In hot water. With extra soap.
7. Sanitize your hands. Or don't if you aren't a germ-a-phobe like me!

Well, those are my thrifting tips for you! Check out more tips here and here. I absolutely love this girl's blog. She finds the cutest clothes thrifting and knows how to pair them! 

And check out my thrift finds below! P.s. Pardon my selfies... I do not care for them, but it was the only way to show you my outfits :) I also recently purchased a blue Sonoma puffer vest, and a gray Columbia vest!

Black polka dot dress shirt

Orange racerback workout top

My awesome kicks!!

Black Merona sweater

Until next time!

Homemade Coffee Creamer

Hello friends.

If you're anything like me, you need a good cup of coffee to start your day.

 

I, however, cannot drink my coffee without creamer.

And not the powder kind... I need the flavored liquid. And a lot of it :/

Sometimes my coffee is more tan than brown, but I don't see a problem with that.

 

I usually buy coffee creamer, but it is so darn expensive, and I go through it way too quickly.

Enter Pinterest.

 

 

*Hallelujah!*

 

 

All you have to do is search for homemade coffee creamers and you can get results for just about any coffee creamer flavor that your heart desires!

 

I have found irish cream, cinnamon cake, chocolate mocha, cookies & cream (which I am drinking as we speak, er, type), strudel, caramel vanilla... the possibilities are endless!
*Disclaimer: I wouldn't say that it exactly tastes like cookies & cream, but it's good enough for me.

 

 

So here's a little recipe to start your morning:

 

Cookies & Cream Coffee Creamer

1 Cup milk (or half & half, almond milk, heavy cream) of your choice (I used 50/50 almond milk and half and half

1 tsp. cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tbs sweetener (I used agave nectar, but you can use any sweetner of your choice)

 Here are some good ones.
 

That's it! Just wisk it up and you have homemade creamer!

Enjoy! :)
 

 

 

 

64. Weekends with family
65. Parties for old friends

66. Pictures of baby Miles

67. Summer

68. Finishing books

69. Embrace Church

70. Amazing worship

71. Cool weather

72. Relaxing weekends

73. Hobby Lobby coming to town!

74.Coffee

75. A quiet office

76. Plans for the weekend

77. and starting books

78. 8+ hours of sleep

79. Summer trips

80. My husband

81. New friends

82. Softball

83. Lemons in my water

84. Online devotions 

Taking stock.

 

Does anyone else think that summer is going way too fast???

I can't believe it's already June.

I found this really neat list at my friend Alicia's and also here.

 

I thought it would be a fun way to sum up what's going on over here lately.

 



Making : plans to suprise my hubby with a fun, relaxing weekend. Maybe some fishing or disc golfing in the works? I'm not worried... he never reads my blog :) I don't think he knows where to find it!

Cooking : Hmm... That's a good question. Maybe my specialty... Loaded baked potato casserole. Or at least my hubby thinks it's my specialty! Here's the recipe if you want it. P.s. I leave out the hot sauce, otherwise it is unedible for me! Unedible... is that a word? I think it is a word.

Drinking : H20, as always... and needing to drink more.

Reading: "Balancing it All" by Candance Cameron Bure, and loving it. She's a huge inspiration to me and she really puts things into perspective.

Wanting: A haircut, but not wanting to take the plunge. I wish hair was interchangeable from day to day.

Looking: for shorter, but not drastic hair styles. Always. This occupies a lot most of my free time.

Playing: Pandora. Matt Kearney's on right now.

Wasting: half cups of green tea. As much as I want to be a tea drinker, it's difficult. The first half isn't bad, but the second half gets tough to swallow.

Sewing: Nothing at the moment. I so wish that we had room in our apartment for my sewing machine. Then I could actually learn how to use it! I'm hoping to start embroidery in the near future. I'm also planning on crocheting some blankets soon.

Wishing: I could snuggle my new nephew Miles. He is so precious and I miss him so much.

Enjoying: coffee with an old friend.

Waiting: For the weekend... let the countdown begin.

Liking: Free printables. They make everything all better.

Wondering: if I will be able to take cooking classes someday. That is one of my heart's desires.

Loving: softball. Softball equals summer, even though it doesn't feel like it.

Hoping: for thicker eyebrows. Weird, I know. They look like cave woman eyebrows right now... No joke. I'm getting "new ones" next weekend, and I can't wait. Haha.

Marvelling: at how much I get done when husband is gone for work all week. I don't like him being gone though. Nope.

Needing: sugar to die. Everyday I try to commit to only having a little and everyday I fail.

Smelling: the fresh, damp air from last night's rain coming through my window.

Wearing: Jeans and an NSU t-shirt. It's casual Friday :)

Following: Some new amazing blogs like Scissortail SILK and Where My Heart Resides. I'm really
enjoying these.

Noticing: the chirping of birds outside.

Knowing: Grace is a free, undeserved gift. I cannot and did not earn it.

Thinking: about making Jambalaya. Because googling pictures of it makes my mouth water.

Feeling: muscle soreness, yet pretty awake, even though I couldn't get out of bed at all this week.

Bookmarking: once again... haircuts... craft ideas, recipes.

Opening: Pinterest. Always. It's an addiction.

Giggling: at this...


58. Coach Don Meyer
59. Chai lattes
60. New possibilities
61. Softball
62. My new nephew, Miles Alexander!
63. My hubby being home... finally!

Peach "frozen yogurt"

If you know me you'll know that I have a terrible sweet tooth!

I like sweets... a lot.

I also like when I find healthy sweets on Pinterest. That makes me not feel so guilty about indulging.

 

 

I played with a recipe last night.

 



 

Peach "frozen yogurt."

 

 

The recipe I found on this website called for

1 (16-oz.) bag frozen peaches or 4 cups fresh peaches, frozen solid

3 Tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt (non-fat or whole)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

 

 

Well, I didn't have 4 cups of peaches. I had maybe a cup of my mom's home canned peaches, and so I just adjusted the recipe a bit. I did maybe 1 tablespoon of honey, 3-4 tablespoons of yogurt, and nixed the lemon juice.

 

It turned out a little runny, probably because my peaches thawed way too fast, but it was delicious! I will definitely be making more of this! Hopefully I can get the texture right next time!

 

 

 

46. The gift of life

47. Bible studies with friends

48. Tests results

49. Weekend plans

50. Spicy ginger snaps

51. Relaxing weekend camping with hubby

52. Having to do nothing

53. Rummage sales

54. Getting lost in a good book

55. A decision to eat healthier

56. Movie night with girlfriends

57. SUNSHINE

58. Coach Don Meyer (check out this link or this link) 

 

Satiation.

"My drained, empty body has stopped and my soul has caught up and if I give thanks here, Whom might I recognize? I pass two cups down to the end of the table. It takes a full twenty minutes after you stomach is full for your brain to register satiation. How long does it take your soul to realize that your life is full? The slower the living, the greater the sense of fullness and satisfaction.

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp p. 76

 

This quote really hit me today.

I have been waking up at 5 a.m. to go to the gym lately. From 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., most days, is a whirlwind.

I'm going too fast to enjoy it-- to drink it all in. To give thanks for it.

 

 

Here's to the weekend.

And to drinking it all in.

SKINNY Chocolate Chip Scones

Me and the ladies I work with REALLY enjoy scones.

 

We like to take quick walks across the street to a little coffee shop to get one every now and then.

 

The problem, however, is that when you go to this coffee shop, the scones are never ready until about 10:00 a.m. (on a good day), and you have to deal with a grouchy old man.

 

In attempt to make him not unhappy with us when we walk out of the coffee shop empty handed because the scones are not ready and I'd rather not have my scone for lunch, we decided to call ahead of time.

"Well, OF COURSE I have scones. I HAVE SCONES EVERY DAY!" He barks.

 

Okey dokey then.

I'll just make my own :)

 

So I did.

 

I got the recipe from this website.

 

The only suggestion I would make is to flatten your dough because when it's baking, it raises and gets HUGE, and then it doesn't bake all the way through.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

36. Friends and new beginnings for them

37. God's healing hand on my family

38. "God's Not Dead"

39. Family

40. Easter

41. The work that was done on the cross!

42. All my mom does for me

43. Sleeve-less tops

44. Ginger snaps

45. Rain!

 



Celebrating Little Man

Two weeks ago on Saturday, I traveled all the way to Nebraska to celebrate a Little Man that is soon to be arriving.

In 50 days to be exact, and I can't wait to meet him!

He is my first "blood nephew" if you want to say it that way. He's a pretty big deal in our family.

 

Such a big deal that most of my Target trips now revolve around trying to find bargains for him, rather than myself, which is fine.

 

I threw a "Little Man" shower for my sister Jen, complete with LOTS of mustaches and we had a lot of fun.

 

 

For food we had a build your own BLT bar (props for that idea go to the 3 pregnant women at the shower), fruit pizza, meat balls, mexican roll ups, these yummy mini bundt cakes and candy, because it's not a party unless there's candy :)

 

 

Jen's co- workers made her this awesome diaper cake.

 

I had the ladies play a couple games, which I thought were a hoot!

 

One was where you guess the number of kisses in the jar.  I was suprised how close the winner was!

 

 

Another game was "Name that Children's Book." It was a list of about 20 riddles and you had to decipher them to figure out which book it was. One of the riddles was

"Not just some of them eliminate."

 

Do you know what it is?

 

Everyone Poops.

Haha! I thought that one was pretty good :)

We also had an adorable picture of daddy-to-be when he was just a little tike and played "Pin the Mustache on the Baby."


Once again, I'm SO excited to meet him. He can't come soon enough! :)
Love you so much already, Little Man!

20. Lying in bed before 10:00 p.m.

21. Running in the beautiful weather

22. Splashing through puddles

23. Walks with hubby

24. Lots of sleep and rest on the weekends

25. Waking up for 5:30 a.m. BodyPump

26. Having my workout DONE at 6:30 a.m.

27. COFFEE white with creamer

28. Trips to NE

29. Weekends with my family

30. Baby shower for Little Man!

31. Getting to feel my nephew kick :)

32. Early bed times

33. Sampling ice cream with my work study

34. A warm home

35. New goals 

 



"I see it now..."

"And I see it now for what really is, this dare to write down on thousand things I love. It really is a dare to name all the ways that God loves me. The true Love Dare. To move into His presence and listen to His love unending and know the grace uncontainable."

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (p.59)

 

 

It's amazing how taking even  just a couple minutes out of your day to reflect on your blessings and to record them forms the habit of doing just that.

 

__________________________________________________________________

 

 

5. Calm, crisp mornings

6. Sweet little girl scouts

7. Girl Scout cookies

8. Coffee in the afternoons

9. Clothing exchanges amongst other women

10. A delicious lunch provided by a sweet friend

11. Small group on Monday nights

12. Green grapes

13. Mom's griddle cake recipe

14. My husband's heart

15. Jesus Culture

16. Revelation

17. High schooler's hungry to learn God's word

18. Spring-like weather



Faith gut check time.

Hi friends.

It's been awhile, and I feel like I say that a lot. Things have been craaazy around here for the past couple of weeks.

 

Have you ever noticed how rarely people post about the bad stuff? I'm guilty of it too.

If you scroll through facebook on a daily basis, you will probably notice that a lot of people are posting selfies with their new haircut, or talking about a promotion at work, which is fine, but something just hit me the other day-- do we ever post a picture of a bad hair cut? About getting fired from work? I'm asking myself these same questions too. Rarely do we see things like this.

And maybe it's because of that little "like" button haunting us.

 

So I'm just going to be straight here-- I don't have it all together. I'm a sinner, saved by the grace and mercy of Jesus. That's all.
I mess up daily. Lack faith. Whine and complain. Treat others terribly.

And the list goes on and on.
Just ask my husband. Unfortuntately he sees my ugly side a lot.

And the last 2 weeks were a complete faith gut check for me. You know those times when God just brings us down to our knees? I believe sometimes he does this so that we will get off of our high horse and realize that only HE is worthy of our praise, not ourselves.

For two weeks, I've been in and out of the hospital being poked and proded with needles. I've peed in more cups than I've ever wanted to. TMI.
I had been having terrible back pain which I've gotten on and off for the past 9 months. I thought that it was simply a muscle cramp or injury in my lower back.

I took the majority of the week off work last week and the week before.
I was literally laying on my living room floor crying out in pain, so I decided to go to the doctor.
After multiple blood tests and examinations, a CT scan revealed a large cyst (the size of a grapefruit) on my ovary. No wonder my back was hurting.

In just a matter of days I went from being fine to being told I have to have surgery.

"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book."
Psalm 56:8

This terrified me, to say the least. So much, that I couldn't even pray. All I could do was cry.
I remember having the same response when I found out my niece had cancer. All I could do was cry, and say, "Please, God, please."

This reminds me of a book that I am reading now called "A Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I have tried and tried to read this book, but to be honest with you, she has a very unique way of writing, and it can be challening at times to understand what she's saying. But in the weeks prior to my diagnosis, I have been finally delving into this book.

In it, she talks about finding joy in the trials of everyday life and about what it means to follow Christ through these times. She points out very early on in the book that Christ, the night before he would  take our place and be betrayed, flogged, and murdered, he GAVE THANKS to God. And even as he hung on the cross he PRAYED for those who mocked and persecuted him.

Wow. Nothing like a complete punch in the stomach. Gut check time.

Voskamp also talks about how joy can be in the little things of life. It doesn't always have to be in going on trips and seeing exotic places.

When we see our blessings and gifts from God in the small things of everyday life and give thanks to him, even in the hard times, we ultimately will be more joyful. And that was my word to start 2014.
Joy.
I should be doing this every day. I should be more joyful. I want to be. And I think the way to start being more joyful is to let go of things that don't matter. Thank and praise God for all of the blessing which he has given me. Thank and praise Him in the good times and in the bad. Thank and praise Him ALWAYS. Even when it's hard.

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Voskamp also makes a list of 1000 gifts in her life throughout the book. Things that she's thanking God and praising him for as she stumbles across them daily.
One of hers that I read and loved last night was "Toast with the jam piled high."
I love that one.
So that's what I'm going to do.
Becky from Farmgirl Paints did this awhile back.
So even if I don't necessarily blog everyday, I'm going to make a list in a notebook and when I do blog, I will list them at the bottom. All the way to 1000.

Have a blessed day, friends.

1. MY HEALTH
2. A skilled team of doctor's and nurses who got me through a successful operation

3. My husband and family for being with me during it all
4. Above freezing weather and sun shine



Update*** If you're interested in purchasing this book, I just saw that it is only $5 on christianbook.com!





slip ups

I'm back.
I took a little break, as you probably know.

It's been busy around here. Like super busy. Some days I feel like I drag myself out of bed, run, run, run, and then am asleep before my head hits the pillow.

 

Man, I thought that once I was done with school life would slow down a little bit, but that's not the case.

 

It's so bad that some days I have to THROW, I mean, literally throw my hair into a pony tail, shove my peanut butter toast in my mouth, and speed to work. I wish I were exaggerating.

 

That's why I'm so thankful for Youtube and it's quick and easy hair styles!

 

Like this topsy turvy pony or this subtle twist with a side braid. Now that my hair is getting longer, I can actually do something with my hair when I'm running late, rather than just a pony tail.

 

Oh ya, and remember that no-sugar thingy that I was doing. Yeah, it lasted for a good solid 2.5 weeks, and then temptation got the best of me. I'm bummed that I slipped up a few times and a little upset with myself, but I just have to remember that I'm not perfect, and it's ok to slip up every now and then.

 But I'm determined to beat this thing, so it's back on for the month of February, along with no fried foods. I'm going to do it this time! Hopefully.

With lots of prayer and determination :)  

 

 

 



A dresser redo.

Good afternoon, friends.

What's the weather like for you? It's a blizzard here. Imagine that. I miss snow days. Work doesn't have snow days.

 

 

I wanted to share with you a project that I started working on last week.

 

I found this dresser at an auction sale a couple months ago.

 

It was the typical 70's, yucky colored wood.

 

But I had high hopes for it :)

 



 

Tada!

 

 

This thing was a PAIN in the butt to paint. The paint would not cover for some reason so it took me 5 coats of paint. I used the entire bucket of paint. I think it was a quart?

 

I also still have to do something with the knobs. When I get to Hobby Lobby I'm going to pick some out I think.

 

Anyway... Have a fantastic day! 

"Ice Cream."

Oh my goodness ladies, do I have a treat for you! Literally. Ok, so you know how I'm on this like no sugar kick? You probably had no idea :) If you love ice cream, peanut butter, and bananas, this is a treat for you.

All you need is:
1 frozen banana
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 scoop vanilla whey protein
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of cinnamon

Blend it all together. Don't fret like I did when it turned into one chunky glob. Just keep blending.

And you will end up with a thick, smooth, creamy, heavenly mixture of goodness. I bet you won't be able to make just one batch. Bananas are on my grocery list.

It makes about 2 servings, both amounting to about 100 calories per serving. Not bad. You can eat this as a snack or dessert. Give it a try!! You won't be sorry.

Enjoy!

No sugar added

Holy smokes, people.
The next couple of days are going to be cold, cold, cold here. The forecast is projecting -50 with the wind chill. Pray for safety for those around the country that have to face these extreme temps.

So yesterday I was seriously craving something sweet. Imagine that, right?

I was going to make something sweet with just a tiny bit of sugar. What would it hurt, right?

Then I thought to myself... no, I'm not going to give in. I'm going to see if I can do this without adding sugar.

So I googled sugar substitutes, and voila, honey!

I found this Blueberry Peach Cobbler recipe on shape.com.

It was so so good! I could have added a little more honey I think, because it wasn't really that sweet, but the amount of honey you're supposed to substitute is way less than the amount sugar called for, so I went easy on the honey.


If you're looking for a healthy treat, this is a good one! 

The batter was so yummy, I could have eaten that alone. 


And no raw eggs, so mom wouldn't be mad! 
:)

#goodbyesugar

Hello friends.

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year.

 

 

 

 

This weekend was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Ok, maybe Christmas was.

Or Thanksgiving... I'm not sure.

 

Anyway. I'm done. Done done done with sweets. For a long time anyway. I hear that if you cut them out completely, after a while you won't want them anymore, or they won't be as appealing.

 

So that's what I'm doing. Cutting out sweets.

I figure that it's nearly impossible to cut out sugar because even fruit has sugar, so I'm cutting out sweets.

 

 

My snack at work today was banana "ice cream." Ok, so it wasn't really ice cream, just a banana blended up with a splash of almond milk and a squirt of agave.

It was pretty decent, but then again you have to really like bananas. I like them, but they aren't my favorite.

 

I also saw on the internet that you can do this with any fruit. Just freeze it, blend it with a little milk and add some honey for sweetness. Yum. And it definitely kills that sweet tooth!

 

 

 When I took my nutrition class in college, we learned that cutting out sugar/ processed junk does more for you than just helping out your waistline. It also makes you FEEL better and gives you more energy, which makes sense. If that's true, I'm all for it. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

 

As for supper tonight... pan seared cod, fresh steamed green beans, and sweet pototaes. (My husband is going to loooove me :S  )

 

 

 

Also, check out the link for awesome printable calendars. I printed mine lastnight!

http://spoonful.com/crafts/20-free-2014-printable-calendars