MANIC MONDAY....The PEC THING Flea Market

You know when it's in your blood....the hunt and gather process, taking nothings and making them into somethings, going from one lone ranger to a COLLECTION (ya know because you have more than one!!), making, creating and seeing things with new eyes. THAT is this lil mind of mine....2 weeks ago I was a vendor at #thepecthing and it was as FUN as it always is (until clean up time)....

After day 1 and sell thru of a few items it's always time to re-arrange and keep things FRESH for day 2

I sold quite a bit and came home with more than I had hoped I would BUT in all fairness I took and took and took until the cows came home....because the more I bring the better chance I have of selling   it - right?!??!? I had all my jingle bells in the cart for the Holidazzle Event BUT there's a waiting list...SO if anyone has an in at #winnebagocountyfairgrounds that would be AWESOME!!! My bestie and I wanna get our holidazzle groove on!

THRIFTY TUESDAY.....FALL TABLE SCAPE

Ok, I don't have a designated "craft area" or office or workspace SO my kitchen table is it - ALL THE TIME....like seriously....it looks like THIS more often than not (and we scoot the stuff around to be able to eat - which BTW I hate.....my family deserves a nice uncrowded place to eat)

While sitting amidst the crowded work space looking at all the fall homes tours one day,  I was inspired to throw together a QUICK tabletop display with items that were LITERALLY sitting in front of me

 (I picked up this FAB white washed rattan basket at #salvationarmy for .89 thinking it would be the PERFECT size for the back of the toilet tank) while looking at all the beautiful fall homes I decided something skinny for my tabletop would be MORE prudent than the toilet tank...

SO I popped a few pumpkins (that are intended for a fall wreath project I am still in the middle of creating) into the basket and VIOLA!!! I have a fall tablescape AND my future projects are organized, contained and displayed (until I have time to make that dang wreath)

Here it is with my new FAB table runner (which is actually a clearance throw rug from #familydollar). I LOVE fam dolla - the BEST thangs for a budget....GUESS the price on this lil beauty of a runner rug....leave your guess in the comments and we'll see who's right!!!

TRY IT THURSDAY.....FLEA MARKET PREP, A PUMPKIN and THE PEC THING

Anyone who's ever done a flea market, craft show, etc will tell you the prep is IMMENSE (if you want  success and the greatest results). I learned that with the spring flea market....I thought I had SO MUCH stuff, painted into the nights and when I got there I realized I was not as prepared as I thought I was, had far less product once it was spread out and learned the "smalls" can make or break your display...SO I have literally been prepping since the last market in May....

I hand dyed coffee filters....

Painted several items....

Cleaned and de-labeled countless bottles.....

LEARNED how to work with decomesh.....

Made t-shirt fabric balls....for display primarily but would totally sell them

Was UBER inspired in ways that sometimes shock the hell outta me.....

Painted some more.....

Tried my hand at ties.....

And THIS lil baby has to be my FAVE project of them all....a doily over a pumpkin - how SIMPLE, vintage and FAB!!!

Come see me THIS WEEKEND Sept 19 and 20th at #thepecthing at the Winnebago County fairgrounds!!! SHop til you drop because I don't plan to bring any of this back home!!!! LAST SALE of the season!

THRIFTY TUESDAY....COUPONING

We've all seen or heard of extreme couponing right?!?!? They are my HEROS!! Total ROCKSTARS!!! How DO THEY DO IT?!?! I think it's gotta be a full time job! Checking sales ads, cutting coupons, checking the ads against your coupons - it's like a grown up version of the  memory game (I kinda like it actually). I FINALLY got a taste of what it feels like....

I picked up these 11 items (colgate optic white toothpaste - my fave, puffs kleenex {allergy season is upon us with cold season not far behind} 2 old spice large shower gels, 2 febreeze sprays, a small dawn dish soap{again a PERSONAL prefernce} a roll of papertowels, a pair of pantyhose {for my mom} and 2 pairs of leggings.....how much do YOU think all this cost?!?!

BOOM! Pre-tax $8.46 with tax $10.34

I LOVE couponing at CVS.....I earn rewards on groceries (which I believe I had $3.00 here), I got $3.00 for signing up for the phone app and I used manufacturer coupons for the shower gel, the dish soap, toothpaste and the febreeze products (a lot of times the coupons offered in Sunday's paper will correspond with sales at various retailers....Sometimes you buy things simply because they are economical (such as the paper towels - the roll was highlighted for $1.25 and with my CVS card I got .75 off SO I paid .50 for this particular roll of paper towels - pretty good deal considering paper towels sell for at LEAST $1.00/roll.
I am relatively *NEW* to this couponing thang SO if YOU have any favorites, tips or tricks, I'd LOVE to hear about them!! Leave me a comment so I can check out your website!

ARM SWAG SUNDAY.....Natural wooden textures and gold

SO todays Arm Swag Sunday may not SEEM like they could go together BUT I loved the natural wood and the accent of gold (and bling of course)

Arm Swag:
Watch - Chico's
Gold Bracelet with bling (looks kinda chanel-ish to me)  - Chico's
Wooden Beads - Assorted gift shops
Blue Lapis - Marshall's

I'd LOVE to see if you sport wooden bracelets and how YOU wear them!!! Leave me your link!

A DAY IN THE LIFE....

....Pic's via my iphone for the past 2 weeks!!!

Found these babies at #dollartree - HOLLA!!!! I've been wanting to try them

Eating better, brighter and healthier....more to come on that....

Went to the Winnebago County Fair....the rides were SO MUCH better this year....look how beautiful!!

How can you go to the fair and NOT get a funnel cake?!?! Maple and bacon - holla!!! 

Back to school....which means new wardrobes for the kids (my son LOATHES jeans and jean shorts SO that's something we have to buy together)

COMMITTED to being back in the gym...even IF it's for small amounts of time....STAY TUNED

LOVING Mixed Media Journaling....home and beauty here on this page (to see more swing over to Monday's post)

I'm in LOVE with #Teavana

Keepin it healthy....

It's homecoming in our neck o'the woods....these kids are SO CREATIVE these days!!! Makes me want BACK in highschool (of course KNOWING all I know now)

Homecoming dress shopping...

Where creative displays were BOUNTIFUL (I snapped SO many pics....I have a flea market coming up and can ALWAYS use inspiration)

What have YOU been up to?!?!  Big plans for the holiday weekend?!?!

FOODIE FRIDAY...ZUCCHINI Boats with MEATn in the TOASTER OVEN

SO in an effort to be the BEST version of me I can be I am always looking for new innovative ways to incorporate veggies and clean eating into my diet (I said INCORPORATE NOT go full throttle). I did the South Beach diet over 10 years ago and it was really good - flavorful meals, I ate stuff i never thought I would....THIS was a take on a recipe from that book. I had some leftover zucchini and didn't want it to go to waste (we had grilled the weekend before)....

SO I cooked up some ground beef, added red and yellow peppers....

 While the meat filling was cooking I hollowed out the zucchini boats AFTER cutting the zucchini in half (I used a melon baller and while it got the pulp out O think I should've just used a spoon and had a cleaner edge  - and no lil holes in the bottom)

Once I had all my pulp I decided to swirl ir around the bullet and make it more consistent with the meat...

Here it is added to the meat....made a nice thick "sauce"

Placed my boats on parchment paper and the toaster oven tray (that's right folks, we made these babies in the TOASTER OVEN)

 Sprinkled with Italian Mix cheese and broiled in Toaster Oven until a beautiful golden brown started happening....

Dinners Served!

WIWW.....WHAT I WORE WEDNESDAY

I like to link up with THE PLEATED POPPY http://thepleatedpoppy.com/2015/09/what-i-wore-107/ to see what everyone's wearing and get a lil inspiration!! 

What I'm wearing:

Earrings and Long Shell Necklace  - Burlington Coat Factory (more than great coats - LOL)

Short Shell Necklace - Bought while we were in Florida

Jacket - Chico's

Tank - Chico's

Distressed Boyfriend Jeans - #chicos

Sandals - Marshall's

End of a LONG work /errand day (I forgot my hair was even up) and WHY oh WHY did I not wear these pants more this summer?!?! We have about another week of white pants - DANG!!

Necklace - Chico's
Tunic - Chico's
White Pants - Ralph Lauren
Sandals - Macy's

What I'm wearing:

Jacket - Chico's OLD

Statement Necklace - Chico's

Tank - Chico's

Chambray "joggers" - Kmart for a SONG

AREN'T they CA-UTE?!?!?

 What I'm wearing:
Necklace - Thrifted
Tunic - Chico's (you have to wear leggings with this BECAUSE it's slit clear up the sides....for a more casual look I think it would be ADORABLE paired with cut off denim shorts)

Shopping for a homecoming dress day...aye aye....my daughter is SO picky....I have NO idea where she gets that from!!

What I'm wearing:
Faux Specs - the icing
Denim Vest - Chico's
Fringe (FAB) purse - Chico's

Off to see what YOU were wearing this week!!