A Pinterest Success

Hey gang. It's been a few weeks.

Moving on from my radio silence........

I have not blogged much these past few weeks because I have been traveling, doing some home improvement projects, and taking care of some really serious business like watching all the seasons of Pretty Little Liars on Netflix. I am totally hooked, and am dying to find out who A is. Don't tell me if you know.

One major mile stone that we have reached during the 1st quarter of the year....I have finally had a Pinterest success! Well, not so much me, but P.

I saw this pinned this ages ago, and I thought it was beautiful.

I showed it to P sauce and asked him to make one for me. So he did.

First, we went to Home Depot to look at 5 panel doors, and they were pretty expensive, and we didn't want to spend that much money on the project. After doing some research, we found a scrap yard on the South side of Dallas, and we stopped by one early Saturday morning. We asked if they had any doors on sight, and the guy running the shop laughed. He said, "Yea, we have about 3,000."

Awesome.

After door hunting, and some negotiations, we were able to get this beauty for $45.00

As you can see, we may have gone a bit overboard an purchased a few doors. Now, we are those weird people in the neighborhood with a lot of doors.

At one point P suggested hanging them around the house like art. I suggested we not do that.

That door had 8 layers of paint on there, all different colors. We went through containers and containers of stripper, trying to remove all the old gunk. It took days to work through each layer, peeling and scraping one area at a time.

After getting all of the main layers off, it was time to start working on the panels and in the corners. The detail work.

At this point, one of us got bored and stopped working on the door. I'll give you a hint, there was a certain handsome gentleman working on the door way past midnight one night to finish, while the other gentlewoman was snuggling with the dogs, passed out on the couch.

Finally, we got the door stripped, sanded, and ready to paint.

The real delay started here. P left the color selection up to me, and for some reason I was dead set on teal. Even though teal goes with nothing in our room, I wanted teal. I bought teal, painted a portion teal, hated the teal, and declared that this thing would never be finished.

A little about me, I don't do well when I have a lot of options. Have you ever looked at paint samples? There are around 86,000 colors to choose from, and each is slightly different from the next. And once you chose the color you have to choose the finish, gloss, high gloss, matte.....Are you going to distress it. You know who was distressed, me.

Lots of really tough first world problems I was facing.

Finally, I was able to move from my paint induced paralyzed state, I chose a color from the 18 sample bottles I purchased from the Home Depot. (I wish I was inflating this number.)

I picked, I painted, and here is what we were left with.

Our lovely headboard.

Please excuse the sloppily made bed.

Thanks to Pinterest and P, I think it looks awesome!!!

Any Pinterest successes recently?

Christmas with Cash

I am done Christmas shopping!! Well, almost. I have maybe one or two more presents to buy, but that is it. Otherwise I am done done done done.

 This year, P and I saved money through out the year, and by October, we had saved up enough cash to pay  for our all of our gifts. It is funny that this year, I have come in under budget on each gift I purchased. I was able to use coupons, get some deals, and score some sales. Plus, it really does hurt when you fork over the cold hard cash. While I was out shopping, I debated each gift. I think because I did not swipe my debit card, it became so much more real to me.

I do have to admit one thing. This year has been a lot easier because for Christmas this year, P and I are giving each other a ski trip in February. So rather than give gifts to unwrap, we are just putting the money we would spend on each other into our vacation account.


One thing I would like to point out is the absence of our Christmas tree. We have two dogs and they are very well behaved. There is one problem, the white one, Bear, tends to urinate on plants until they die. Outside or in, he makes it his goal to kill any living thing he can.

We had a fern, and every time he went outside he urinated on it. A few weeks ago, we picked out a tree, had decorations in our basket at the store, and P looked at me and said, "We cannot put a living plant inside. Bear will have a field day." So no tree, no decorations for us this year.

How are you doing on your Christmas shopping?

Quality vs. Quantity

This past year, P and I have really made an effort to overhaul our diets.
For starters, we now only purchase organic meats at the store. We have almost completely cut out red meat. The bulk of our grocery bill now goes towards whole foods and lots of produce. We still sneak in the occasional Amy's burritos for quick fixes, but for the most part, our diet has radically changed. I cannot remember the last time that I bought t.v. dinners, microwave pizza, or bottles of sugary juice. We have become so much more careful and discerning in our food choices. On the plus side, we have been able to do this without increasing our food budget. I watch the weekly sales cycles like a hawk and will price match to get the lowest cost on everything that I can.

Buying "nicer" or higher quality foods has started to affect me in other areas too. For example, I used to buy all of my clothes at Target. They were not the highest quality, but I had a lot more to choose from. This past year, I have found myself in the clothing section at Target, and I continually put items back on the shelf. As a result, I have purchased far fewer clothes this year that in years past. I am finding I have been gravitating to higher end clothing. Now, let me explain, my version of "higher end" means I shop at the Banana Republic and Ann Taylor sales isle, but they are still above a Target rack. Sometime earlier this year, I asked myself do I want stuff to just have, or do I want to purchase items that will hold their value, that last and are made with quality craftsmanship. And I find this to be true in so many areas of my life. I am coming to place where I want quality over quantity. I would rather have few clothes, but nicer items than a closet full of cheap clothes that start to look worn after just a few uses. I still have a skirt that I purchased at Banana Republic Outlet over 10 years ago, and it fits and looks like new still.

In an effort to help purge my closet, last Thursday night, I tried on every single item in my closet. It took a couple of hours, but I tried it on, and did a little fashion show around the house. P and I graded everything that I own, skirts, tops, pants, shoes, jackets, sweaters, everything. I ended up with two large bags to donate to Goodwill. It feels so good to rid myself of all that stuff. I continually go to Target too often, and I still spend way too much money at that store, but I am becoming much more discerning with how I spend my money.

What about you? Are your tastes changing?

Money Matters

I really like to get high. Yes, I said it. Getting high is awesome.
For some getting high means smoking pot. Mom, FYI--pot is a drug, not something you cook in.
My version of getting high means saving money. Saving money is one of my FAVORITE things.
I was on a major savings spree today, and even hours later, I am still enjoying my buzz. The other day Carla bragged on her shopping trips, so I thought I would join the fun.

Here is how I saved.
My straightener died, and I had to buy a new one. I originally purchased one from Ulta that cost 70.00 bones. I couldn't justify that. I took it back and went to Target, and got a new one for around 40.00. Thirty dollars saved!

My office sells discounted movie tickets. I went and bought my tickets for the Hunger Games on Friday night. (Yes, I did!!) Rather than pay over 20.00 for two tickets, I bought them for 12.00! Saved another 8.00, yahoo!

Of course, I have to save the best for last. A few weeks ago, P and I purchased a Kitchen Aid Mixer for our anniversary. I have been wanting one for years. We found it on sale at Macy's. Normally they run about 400.00, but we found it for 240.00 and bought it, thinking it was a great deal. Last week, I saw a flyer selling the mixer for 199.00. WHAT?? I took the flyer in to Macy's today and price matched the mixer, and now I have a gift card for 73.00 smack-a-roos! (We bought it with P's debit card, and he was not at the store, so I couldn't get the money put back in our account.)

Total saved today around 220.00. Not to shabby for a Tuesday!
What savings have you had lately?

Angelo

I shop at Walmart from time to time. It is really close, it is a one stop shop, it is cheap, and I leave there feeling pretty good about myself (as compared to most others there), but pretty ashamed to be an American.

Everyone has an opinion about Walmart, some good, others bad.
While at Walmart, I have observed many different things:
-Rich and poor shop at Walmart
-There are a lot of rude people at Walmart, employees and customers alike.
-I have seen a couple attempt to steal a t.v.
-I I have seen a woman put her basket in a very long checkout line and walk away to continue shopping, and come back with a handful of goods.
-I have heard some curse words that I did not know could be put together.
-I have seen open packages laying on the shelf--clearly someone didn't feel like paying for that Snickers bar.
-I have seen a box of condoms placed in the freeze section
-I have been paid to shop there--my coupons were more than my total and I got money back--that was awesome!
-They price match!
-I have gotten mad when I have seen others use food stamps then get into a nicer car than I have.

Through it all, I have seen some crazy things at Walmart. Clearly, some things have been pretty bad, but there are 2 things that inspire me:
-The Greeters and -Angelo
The greeters are usually elderly men and women, or they are the mentally ill. I usually make a point to stop and talk to them. I think it is Awesome that Walmart will give them a job.
The greatest thing I have seen at Walmart this year is Angelo. When I shop there, I look to see if he is working at a register, and I usually try to get into his line. I don't know much about him other than what I have observed, but I like him a lot.
Here is what I have observed about Angelo
-He is probably in his mid 50's
-He is probably an immigrant from Middle Eastern descent
-He has a mustache
-None of that really matters. The reason that I like to have him check out my groceries is because of his work ethic
-He is kind and respectful to everyone
-He always has a smile
-He does not work or act like he is "just" a cashier
-He takes pride in his job
-He talk to everyone
-He has a neat and tidy appearance
-He does his best every time.

His work ethic is 100% better than 99% of the other employees that I have encountered. He works like he is happy to have the opportunity to have a job, rather than act like he is too good for his job.
One of the best lessons that I learned as a child was to view each job as an opportunity, and to never think I was too good to do any job. I have worked as a hostess, a nanny, and a hotel maid, but I did all of them with pride.

Angelo's attitude and work ethic some something that we need a lot more of here in America.