Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The More You Know...

I learned a hard and unfortunate lesson last weekend. I thought it would be good to wash the curtains in our living room. They've been hanging for two years now, so they are probably musty and such.

Here's the thing. I don't care if someone has spilled sour milk on my curtains. I'll never, ever wash them again.



If your curtains get nasty enough that they need to be washed, save yourself the trouble and buy new ones instead.



Or at least read the instruction label before you throw them in the dryer on hot. Oops.

Monday, August 13, 2012

A nice weekend

We had such a nice weekend - the kind with not much to do and a lot of time to do it. On Friday night we went to my parent's house for dinner, which was fun. I managed to come home with some nail polish, socks, and dog toys as well... someone in our family was pretty happy about that one.


We worked on a few house projects, did some cleaning, and finally watched Bridesmaids.  I get what all the fuss was about - what a fantastic movie. Zac and I both loved it. Hopefully Kristen Wiig will make another one soon now that she's left SNL.

I even got in a little bit of sewing. I made a few baby gifts and started working on a "just because" project. It will be a table runner for our dining room - it still needs corners, applique, and to be quilted, but here's a preview.


I am tickled with how straight my lines ended up!! Those are 3.5" squares, for reference.

The horrific heat finally lifted in the Mid-west, and it felt a little bit like fall this weekend. We even made chili yesterday, though I have to admit that may have been pushing it a little. I can not wait for when it actually IS fall!


Even the crape myrtle had a nice weekend. I hope you did too!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Review: Firmoo Sunglasses

A few weeks ago, Firmoo offered to send me a free pair of glasses or sunglasses to review. Awesome, right? Well - yes. Except I'm not as special as I thought. I'll explain that in just a minute.

Since I don't wear glasses anymore (yay!) I went for a pair of sunglasses. Ever since my Lasik surgery, I'm really picky about my sunglasses. Don't think that means I pay a lot for them - because you know I'm cheap. Actually, I'm picky because my eyes are sensitive to the sunlight and I really need sunglasses that actually block the sun.

Here's the pair I chose:


I was really pleasantly surprised -- I absolutely love them! I have a really narrow face and a lot of sunglasses just like giantly stupid on me. These are large enough to be fashionable but narrow enough that they fit my face well. The color is really pretty and unexpected, which is fun.


Aren't they pretty? Ordering them was incredibly easy, and they came really quickly. They included a lens cleaning cloth, a soft case, and a hardshell case. Wow.


I'm really impressed with the way they block out light, especially considering that when you're wearing them, they don't color the world in a strange way. I didn't edit this pictures at all, by the way. Sorry - next time I'll wear some lipstick.

So when I mentioned before that I wasn't as special as I thought, it's because you can all get a pair of free glasses too! New customers can get a pair of prescription or non-prescription glasses totally free!

According to Firmoo, "Vision & Fashion the Frugal Way is our ultimate goal, so we offer free eyewear including regular eyeglasses, bifocals, progressives, sunglasses, goggles, etc. for customers to try our quality products and service."

Boom. You won't be disappointed. Head over there right now and get your own pair!

*I was sent a free pair of glasses in exchange for writing this review, but all opinions are my own.*

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Some BFF projects

I spent almost all of my staycation sewing... and a lot of that sewing was for my BFF, Violet.


That's Violet. She just turned 2, and she is unbelievably awesome. Her parents are friends of ours, but between you and me, they aren't the reason I go to their house anymore (sorry Mina & Taft!).  I made Violet a quilt a few years ago before she was born, and when her little sister was born this summer, we know she'd need one too.


This quilt is a mix of quilting cottons, minky, felt, and chenille. The result is an incredibly soft, cuddly quilt that was a nightmare to put together. Cue mountains of fuzz, please.


The monkeys are just too sweet.




I love the back -- those are lady bugs. See that white square in the corner? Violet and Lucille's dad, Taft, is the closest thing I'll ever know to a real life rock star. So of course she needed this finishing touch!


I had some extra soft fabric so I made these little "lovies" for the girls. They're 10 inch by 10 inch squares and they're perfect for snuggling.



See? I told you! Violet calls it her "BFF Blanket" when she wants it.


And if you don't believe me that Violet is my BFF... I have proof. Click through to the video - it's short and worth it, I promise!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Lots for lunch!

I pack my lunch almost every day. You know I'm cheap, so I like that I save money when I pack my lunch, and I tend to eat healthier too.

A few weeks ago I ordered a new lunch box. You've probably seen it on Pinterest - it's called the Easy Lunch Box and I'm officially obsessed.

My order came with four containers and a cooler pack, which perfectly fits two coolers and an ice pack. I don't even put my lunch in the fridge - it just sits under my desk until lunch time and it's still perfectly cold. It was only $20, and it came with a bunch of stuff.



I think the best way to explain it to you is to let my past few weeks of lunches speak for themselves. I pack two containers every day - one is snacks / mini meals (usually one in the morning and one in the afternoon) and the other is my lunch.

Leftover calzone, carrot sticks, granola thin

Strawberries, pretzels, knock off goldfish that were disgusting

Leftover pork roast, smashed potatoes, fruit snacks

Carrot sticks, string cheese and triscuits, granola thins

Tortilla chips, avocado chicken salad, carrot sticks

English muffin pizza (for the toaster oven at work), carrot sticks, strawberries

Pretzels, weight watchers string cheese (it's yummy), dark chocolate almonds, grapes

Leftover tacos, fruit snacks, grapes

Pretzels, carrot sticks, apples with caramel

Buffalo chicken eggrolls with ranch (more on that later), caprese pasta salad, raw asparagus

I've never really liked the actual packing of my lunch, but it's fun to do it when you have little compartments to fill. They are deceivingly big - and will help you with portion size. The individual bags of baby carrots fit exactly into the mid-sized compartment, which means you can buy a big bag and portion accordingly. One serving of goldfish crackers fits perfectly into the small compartment.

This would be perfect for kids going to school, too, but I love it as a grown up going to work! I didn't get anything for writing this post -- I just seriously love the lunch box. You can visit their website if you want to get one for yourself!

Do you have any ideas for other things I can have in my lunch?

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