Why should humans have all the fun on Valentines day?!

Check out these little friends on Etsy...

'Just the two of us...' by BlueForestJewellery

Animals are so cute!

Swan Love WildLittleGoos... $25.00	Removable Vinyl wall st... walldesigner00... $58.00	We are together ( two S... ialbert $25.00
Personalized Wedding gi... fancyprints $24.00	Nightowls - 25 Personal... Exlibrisstudio $15.00	Two Little Squirrels Va... SophieParker $2.30
Just The Two Of Us Hipp... CapturedDivine... $10.00	Two Cute Cats Heart Lov... decaldelightco... $16.00	Two Birds Magnet (2.25 ... SickOnSin $4.50
Goat and Pig Love Print... CrowBiz $12.00	Dove Birds YdnarImaging $25.00	Two Little Lovely Rabbi... RaineStyleHome $25.50
The Perfect Two JanPalomboDesi... $44.00	Zen Brush Valentine Two... ZenBrush $20.00	I GOT SOMETHING TO SHOW... blobhouse $54.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com.

Why should humans have all the fun on Valentines day?!

Check out these little friends on Etsy...

'Just the two of us...' by BlueForestJewellery

Animals are so cute!

Swan Love WildLittleGoos... $25.00	Removable Vinyl wall st... walldesigner00... $58.00	We are together ( two S... ialbert $25.00
Personalized Wedding gi... fancyprints $24.00	Nightowls - 25 Personal... Exlibrisstudio $15.00	Two Little Squirrels Va... SophieParker $2.30
Just The Two Of Us Hipp... CapturedDivine... $10.00	Two Cute Cats Heart Lov... decaldelightco... $16.00	Two Birds Magnet (2.25 ... SickOnSin $4.50
Goat and Pig Love Print... CrowBiz $12.00	Dove Birds YdnarImaging $25.00	Two Little Lovely Rabbi... RaineStyleHome $25.50
The Perfect Two JanPalomboDesi... $44.00	Zen Brush Valentine Two... ZenBrush $20.00	I GOT SOMETHING TO SHOW... blobhouse $54.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com.

Saturday Night

Isn't that a creative title? I couldn't think of anything else :P Sorry I was gone for a couple of days - went all melty brained (migraine) again! But I'm backkkkk. And here is where I'm at:

What's For Sale

Garden Earrings

Aren't these cute? It may not be the right time of the year to be out in your garden (unless you're in the southern hemisphere!) but that doesn't mean it's not a great time to buy these earrings! Wouldn't they make a great Christmas present? Click on the link above to go check 'em out in my store! 

Groovy Nights

Aren't these great to wear to a party? Or even just to add a little jazz to your every day life? I sure think so! Click on the link! 

Daily Crafty ADD

Well - being knocked out with a bad migraine makes for no crafting :( BUT I did go shopping! 

Aren't they cute? It was hard to take a good picture - but that's red and green folks! I'm going to play with them soon, but I have a couple of other things I need to work on first. I'll show you what I mean tomorrow :D

Shop and save: A Dreamaid collaboration for Christmas

Chrissys and Blue Forest Jewellery are taking part in a Dreamaid Christmas collaboration, so it's the perfect time to sort out your Christmas cards and tags, and your jewellery gifts at the same time!

These eco friendly gift tags are so classy!

Every time there is a purchase in my UK online stores, I'll be enclosing a business card from Chrissys which entitles the holder to a discount on her beatiful handmade cards and gift tags on Dreamaid.   Similarly, if you make a purchase from Chrissys, you'll receive a unique 10% discount code for Blue Forest Jewellery.


Don't forget that all purchases from Dreamaid benefit projects in the developing world, so you can buy both charity cards and tags and charity presents this Christmas. 

Single cards and multi packs available

The easiest way to claim your discount is to let the seller know what you wish to purchase, quoting your discount code before buying, so that a special listing can be created and reserved for you at the discount price.  Alternatively, you can quote the code as you go through the Paypal payment process and the discount will then be credited to you as a partial refund through Paypal.

Robins and holly - what's not to like?

It may be the first time that there's been this sort of online joint promotion, so for those of you who are shopkeepers yourselves, Chris and I will keep you up to date with whether this venture increases views and sales in our shops on our blogs. 

A little jewellery sample...

Here's hoping!

Look out for a Dreamaid Christmas special compilation soon on this blog.

Shop and save: A Dreamaid collaboration for Christmas

Chrissys and Blue Forest Jewellery are taking part in a Dreamaid Christmas collaboration, so it's the perfect time to sort out your Christmas cards and tags, and your jewellery gifts at the same time!

These eco friendly gift tags are so classy!

Every time there is a purchase in my UK online stores, I'll be enclosing a business card from Chrissys which entitles the holder to a discount on her beatiful handmade cards and gift tags on Dreamaid.   Similarly, if you make a purchase from Chrissys, you'll receive a unique 10% discount code for Blue Forest Jewellery.


Don't forget that all purchases from Dreamaid benefit projects in the developing world, so you can buy both charity cards and tags and charity presents this Christmas. 

Single cards and multi packs available

The easiest way to claim your discount is to let the seller know what you wish to purchase, quoting your discount code before buying, so that a special listing can be created and reserved for you at the discount price.  Alternatively, you can quote the code as you go through the Paypal payment process and the discount will then be credited to you as a partial refund through Paypal.

Robins and holly - what's not to like?

It may be the first time that there's been this sort of online joint promotion, so for those of you who are shopkeepers yourselves, Chris and I will keep you up to date with whether this venture increases views and sales in our shops on our blogs. 

A little jewellery sample...

Here's hoping!

Look out for a Dreamaid Christmas special compilation soon on this blog.

Grocery Shopping for Less

Last week I posted that I only spent $58 on groceries for the week. I was asked many times, "how do you do it?" It's actually a lot of work before you even think about going to the grocery store.

There are four major things I do in advance.
First I think everyone should have a budget, you can read how I do ours here. We have an envelope specifically for grocery shopping. Say you get paid on the 1st and the 15th (like we do) pick an amount to put in the envelope. Then, figure out how much you are willing to spend on groceries. For example, we usually put $100 in on the 1st and 15th. Then I figure out how many grocery trips we need to take and usually say I want to spend $80 - $100 a trip. If you don't spend the whole amount, put it back in the envelope...it rolls over! Money starts stock piling once you actually start saving money!

Second I realize this option isn't available to everyone. My Mom sends us Omaha Steaks, I think we average one order every two months. Our last shipment had pork tenderloin, catfish, and filets. They send you 4 - 6 of each item, and since there are only two of us..it lasts a while! So, when someone asks what you want for Christmas this year...tell them you want steaks!

Third Coupons! Get them anywhere you can, newspapers, online, product packages. Also, we get free samples in the mail..and they usually come with a coupon for the product. 

Fourth Make the menu for the week, try using ingredients you already have hand. Try doing meals with a lot of the same ingredients (chop once, use twice!) 

Ok, so now you are ready to go grocery shopping! Get your list, the money you set aside, a calculator and a pen! We walk up and down every aisle, I use the calculator to keep track of how much we are spending..that way we have no surprises when we get to the register! Make sure you use the pen to cross of things you buy, I hate forgetting things! 

We stockpile, but not a lot. We have lots of shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste. We don't buy a lot of snacks, and if we do...it's usually pudding and yogurt. We splurge on two things, beef jerky and cheese. And we usually get a bottle of Lucky Duck wine, really really cheap and yummy! Once a month we have to buy dog food and paper products. I also don't buy any canned products, everything is fresh or frozen.

It  might take a while to get a hang of it, we were spending about $100 for a while, getting a good stockpile. But now we are averaging about $60 - $70 (and we buy things that will rollover into the next week), AND we don't use all the money in our budget...so we are still saving money!

We are grocery shopping tonight. I set aside $80. I'm aiming to spend only $60 of that!

Good luck! 

The Adventures of Dress Shopping: Part 2

Today was very unsuccessful.

To get the day started, we went to a movie. Eat, Love, Pray. I'm praying that the book is better. The movie was slooooow. The only part I liked was Italy, because the food looked so good! I wish I could throw caution to the wind and eat everything I want. But alas, I care what my pant size is....

Speaking of pant size, let's get to the dress shopping. Stop one was a major fail. Way too many beads, cutouts, and heavy dresses. I'd rather not add an extra 20 pounds to myself just by wearing a dress! We walked out, not happy.

The second place seemed very uppity. Mannequins that you couldn't touch and no cameras allowed! I didn't really see anything that I liked, and only tried things on because I was bored. Here are the results (yes, I took pictures when they weren't allowed!)

I am not a size 14, but that's what this dress is. What dummy sized these things?! It's not zippered in this picture, and looks kinda awful..but I kinda liked it. I could move in it. And, according to the lady, I have a nice figure in it!

We all agreed that we liked this on the rack. But I was sent back into the dressing room when I came out. Seriously, that slit is awful!

Not me, at all. But I kinda like that it's different. But because I'm so short, the strap didn't fit the right way. It would be more towards my shoulder...and not my neck!

I think after two days of shopping I definitely have an idea of what I want. Now there's only two more obstacles to cross...shoes and hair!

The Adventures of Dress Shopping

Today I went out on the first shopping excursion for a ball dress! I was joined by three great ladies, Breanna, Carmen and Natosha. We had such high hopes! But we were let down, not once, not twice...but three times!

The first store was the only store we planned to go to. Online they had an amazing selection. When we walked in the lady pointed us in the direction of all the red and blue dresses. They were awful. There was not even one that was a maybe. They all had cutouts, glitter and belonged on Dancing with the Stars.

The second store was much better. And there was a huge sale! I tried on three dresses and loved two of them. And, I'm so excited, one of them is the dress I posted a few days ago! Which one is your favorite?

This is the dress I posted the other day. I like it, but it's so hard to tell because it's not my size. I hate that!

The color on this one is so different than something I would usually go for. I wish I got a picture of the back, it was blue and gold ropes, really pretty. I'm not sure if I'd be comfortable in it though!

I stole this dress from Breanna only because she liked another dress more. Lucky for me, I love this one. It needs to be altered like crazy...because I'm a midget.

It was decided that everything looked good on Breanna. She even looked awesome in an orange dress!

My vote is that she gets this one!

This one was too cute!

Even though we found dresses we loved, we left empty handed. The lady who helped us  was super nice, she copied down all the info on the dresses we liked. I have a feeling I'll end up there to buy my dress!

After a light lunch, we decided we wanted to try on more dresses. Since we were in New Bern, we traveled two hours to get to Wilmington. We couldn't find one of the places and ended up in some hippie store with tie dye dresses...probably not where we were supposed to be. Then, we decided to go to the mall. Me and Breanna both remember seeing an awesome dress store there in the past. After scouring the store, we were told it closed. SUCKED. 

I needed a pick me up and caffeine. We got some Starbucks and got back on the road to Jacksonville.

It was the longest shopping day ever...but most of the day was spent in the car. I was just so happy that I found dresses that I liked!

My Favorite Activity

I love love love grocery shopping. I used to love going grocery shopping with my Mom. Even though there is a grocery store right across the street from our house, we would travel a little bit further just for a great grocery shopping experience.

Our favorite places for grocery shopping are Roche Brothers and Stop & Shop. Roche Brothers has an amazing cheese selection, I could literally stare at it all day. They have a great olive bar, with peppers stuffed with cheese and prosciutto. If you have never tried those, what are you waiting for?! But the best part of Roche Brothers are the prepared foods. You can go in there, get a healthy-already-made meal for the entire family. And it's so so so good! I miss their chicken wings!

Stop & Shop is perfect for someone like me. I don't like chatty cashiers, but I also loathe self checkout. So what's the only other option? Self-scanners. Oh.My.God. Here's how it works.

1. Bring your own bags.
2. Scan your Stop & Shop card when you walk in the door and receive your own scanner.
3. As you shop, scan the products, and bag them yourself.
4. At checkout, point your scanner at the screen...all of your products are shown on the screen.
5. Pay by sliding your money into the little box (same way you do self-check out)
6. Some people are randomly chosen to look through bags, to make sure nothing was stolen. It's totally random.

No talking, no human interaction, fast AND you save money! How? Your totally is displayed on the scanner..so you have no surprises when you get to the register! I LOVE THIS! And miss it so much.

Wednesday night is grocery shopping night for me and Danny. We do our shopping at Walmart. I like their cheap prices and they have a great variety of choices. I love meal planning and coupons. Here's another way to save money: make meals with a lot of the same products. Buy one thing, use it in several ways!

Grocery shopping at Walmart is not my favorite thing, but I love food and creating meals from it. This is our grocery list for our dinners:

Spinach
Lima Beans
Summer Squash
Corn
Grape Tomatoes
Lime
Bacon
Cantaloupe
2 Red Onions
Red Bliss Potatoes
Sour Cream

And here is what I'll be creating with only those ingredients:
Pepper-Jack Chicken with Succotash (cheese from last weeks meals and chicken from Reina!)
Bacon-Cantaloupe Wraps (have all the condiments and the wraps!)
T-Bone and Potato Salad (remember, our freezer is stocked with Omaha Steaks!)
Spinach and Steak Salad (yep, we have lots of steak in there!)

Meals that I don't have to buy ANYTHING for:
Catfish with double baked potatoes and veggie
Breakfast Skillet


Now I'm excited to go shopping...and start eating!