A little Acorn Boy to remind us Fall is on the way!

I do love all things Fall and Halloween. Although I have a ton of decorations already, I find it very difficult to turn down a good bargain at a garage sale or thrift store. And thrift store is exactly where I spotted this cute little Acorn boy. As cute as he is, I must give him to my crafty blog friend and Moments sister who loves all things Acorn. Little Acorn Boy is coming your way Jen at Lipstick and Laundry!

A Charmed Gift Bag Giveaway

Wendy over at Bitty Bits and Pieces is giving away this darling homemade gift bag. You don't have much time to enter. Get to her site quick!!!! As my best tool is a hot glue gun and not a sewing machine I love this handmade bag! Good Luck!

A "Manly" Birthday Card and a Bathroom Basket

OK, So I learned how to stack my pictures correctly so they will be in order of my blog title. Woohoo! Baby steps!!!
Tomorrow is my friend Eddie's birthday. I made him this little card using the top note die from Stampin Up', a huge paper clip, some scrapbook paper, adhesive and a birthday stamp. I am also going to Smart Foods to buy him one of those big cupcakes that is wrapped up in a clear container. These nice cupcakes are $2.99. Just an inexpensive yet creative way to wish my friend a Happy Birthday! I found this nice big heavy duty basket at the Assistance League Thrift Store in Stockton. It was $6.00 and I really didn't want to pay that much. But it is a nice basket and the proceeds go to a worthy cause so I cut loose with the six bucks! Ouch!
It does work out nicely in my bathroom as a nice storage piece in a small area.

Making Paper Roses

Have you seen paper roses constructed from coffee filters? They are beautiful and look real! This is an image of one.

Wednesday August 5th Janette Deal will be teaching me how to make them from 10am to 1pm at Creative Crafters Vintage Nook in Stockton. You can learn how to make them too! The cost is $15.00 and all you need to bring is yourself and an apron!
(call Robin at 209-547-1073 to sign up)

Even if you can't attend the class you may want to check this store out anyway. It is located at 238 W Harding, near the intersection of Pacific Ave and W Harding. They offer vintage items and craft items. Definitely worth checking out!

If you can't get to the class I promise to provide a tutorial and give away a rose or two after I attend the class and learn how to make them. So be sure to stay tuned!

Great Bargains and a little drive to Lake Tahoe

This is my out of order post. I found these little bargains at a flea market in Lake Tahoe on Sunday. The bag which looks a little vintage was $3.00. All the other goodies were on a table marked 3 for $1.00. The little box is for Easter, I thought the silver thing was for silverware but wasn't sure, and there were 2 of them, I should have got both!!! Because when I got home and put my silverware in it, I thought perfect! The 2 little Nutcrackers will make a nice addition to my growing collection of Nutcrackers. Because I love Halloween and fall I had to get the little witch and Snoopy. My friend Jenni loves Snoopy, so she got him today. So I scored all these cute things for $5.00. I just had a great bargain weekend!!! After the flea market we headed to our actual destination of Bijou Park in Lake Tahoe for a family reunion of some very good friends of our family.

I love this picture of John and I. I think it must become an 8 X 10 on my wall. Three generations. My beautiful mom Emily, me and my lovely daughter Valerie. I love this one too, must become an 8 X 10 on the wall.

And just for your viewing pleasure a nice shot of the Sierras taken at Bijou Park.

Ahhh, what a great weekend!

This post is all backwards sorry! After we went to KMart we headed over to Marshalls in Lodi. We went there just because we love Marshalls! I have wanted a pair of Converse for months and months! Well today because I got such good deals on the stuff for my kids I treated myself to these cute little brown and pink Converse. $24.98! I also found this cool Beatles t-shirt for $7.99. I splurged but didn't feel too guilty because of the great prices. I do love a bargain!!!!!

Saturday John and I set out to find a table and chairs for my daughters first apartment. He is a good sport because he spent all day shopping with me. We hit some garage sales and some consignment shops in Downtown Lodi Ca. I came upon this little table and chairs at Hummelking. It is the perfect size for a small apartment. My cost $65.00! SCORE!

Then we head over to Big Lots and KMart to look for futons. Don't find a futon. However, I did not realize that KMart had such nice boys shirts! I bought my 11 yr old son 5 t shirts, 10 pairs of socks and a backpack. All at great prices!!! I am totally happy now!!!!

A vacation in Paradise (well almost)

Last week my family and I went to Camp De Sabla in Magalia California, which is just a few miles away from Paradise California. Thus, the vacation almost in Paradise.
This camp was beautiful! The trails were lush with trees and plants and flowers! We hiked everyday! It was wonderful!!! Here are a few pictures.

A great site for gifts!

Have you seen collapsible totes?? They are perfect for so many things!!! You have to go to: http://www.whitneycarolinedesigns.com/whatsnew.html and check them out. If you need a personalized gift for a baby shower, wedding shower or just about any occasion you have to see what she has here. I want to get one of the duffle bags with a monogram and a collapsible tote with a monogram. When I have some extra $$$$ I hope to order both!!! (Gifts for myself.)

I do have some pretty photos from my vacation, but I am having technical difficulties (AGAIN!). Hope to get that resolved soon. But I just wanted to share some good stuff with you in the meantime!

A cool t-shirt find and packing for vacation

I squeezed in a little trip to my local Goodwill store this afternoon looking for frames. (I love seeing the things other blogger's find at their local Goodwill stores.) I didn't find any frames, however, I did find this cool t-shirt. I love this stuff, but it is usually pretty expensive, so I didn't feel bad paying a mere $2.75 for it! It is already washed and folded and ready to go!!!

And speaking of ready to go. I am going to Monterey tomorrow night with my daughter so we can be at CSUMB bright and early Friday morning for orientation. Saturday morning we are heading to Camp De Sabla for a family vacation. I normally do not plan too far ahead, so I am proud to say that I am doing laundry and getting the piles of clothes ready tonight! I feel so organized! Not to say that I don't have a lot of other things to do before we leave, but at least I am packing! Are you organized? Do you get everything ready for your trips like a week in advance like my mom does? Or do you get it all together at the last minute and make it work like I do ? :)

Blog Heaven and Song Lyrics for you!

I am having so much fun "detailing" my new blog site! I just need to figure out how to get text in my shabby blog header and I am set!!! I am so glad I moved! I just love the look of my new blog! What do you think? Do you like it?

And on another note (no pun intented :) I just love music! Some song lyrics just touch me and can bring me to tears. So today for you I have some lyrics to live by. I hope you enjoy and remember to dance! Have a great day!

I hope you dance by Leanne Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,May you never take one single breath for granted,GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens,Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.I hope you dance....I hope you dance.I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,Never settle for the path of least resistanceLivin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin',Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.I hope you dance....I hope you dance.I hope you dance....I hope you dance.(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along,Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone.)I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance, And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance. Dance....I hope you dance. I hope you dance....I hope you dance. I hope you dance....I hope you dance.. (Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone)

Testing, this is my first post over here

Test, Test, this is only a test! :)

This is my first post at my new bloghome.

I am still figuring things out over here, may have to ask some of my other blogspot friends for some help :)

But let's talk about the 4th of July one more time. I do hope you all had a nice one. We could not have asked for nicer weather, sunny but not too hot! We went to Sacramento for a neighborhood street party and parade. Lots of fun! This was my 3rd year attending and it is always fun! Live bands, good food, parade! Could you ask for anything more!

Then got out to Lodi Lake last night for the fireworks. I had heard they were cutting the show to 15 minutes to save thousands of dollars. So I went in with a slightly defeated attitude about the whole thing. But I swear they went on for over 15 minutes and the finale was awesome! So I won't complain about the cutbacks. With the economy as it is, I guess everything has to get cutback, even 4th of July fireworks shows.