Consignment Sale Dates Updates

Mom's Marketplace, the best sale in Prattville, posted their dates the day after I posted all the other sale dates.  So here are the top consignment sale dates for the Montgomery, AL area.

I have been tagging and pinning all week getting ready to drop off my items to Kids Carousel.  I have never consigned with them but I sure do love their 75% off day!!  I always go and find good stuff for super cheap.  Sadly, I did not get to the 2 other large storage bins in the attic but I did do 148 items.  I think I'll call it a night. 

Children's Clothing Exchange (CCE) Old Bruno's building off Vaughn Rd., Montgomery
Sat. Feb. 5th 9am-6pm through Friday Feb. 11th
1/2 off days Sat. Feb. 12th 9am-6pm through Monday Feb 14th
(This particular sale also sells second hand women's clothing and accessories at the same time)

Kids Carousel Old Sam's building on Eastern Bypass, Montgomery
Sat. Feb.5th 9am-6pm through Feb. 9th
1/2 off days Monday, February 7th 9am-6pm through Friday Feb. 11th
75% off Saturday, February 12th 9am-3pm

My Kids Attic Eastbrook Shopping Center Coliseum Blvd., Montgomery
Saturday, February 12th 9:00 am - 6:00 pm through Tuesday, Feb. 15th
1/2 days Wednesday, February 16th 9:00 am - 6:00 pm through Saturday Feb. 19th

Doodlebugs Wetumpka
Saturday, March 5 8:00 - 4:00 pm through Thursday, March 10th 9-6
1/2 Days Friday, March 11 9:00 - 6:00 pm and Saturday, March 12 8:00 - 4:00 pm

Mom's Marketplace Hwy 82 West, Prattville
Saturday, February 26th 9am-5pm

Sunday, February 27th noon-5pm
Monday, February 28th - Friday, March 4th  9am-6pm
Saturday, March 5th 8am-5pm
Sunday, March 6th noon-5pm
1/2 off day March 5th 8am-5pm

Coconut Oil

My friend Cindy told me she had been cooking a lot with coconut oil.  I have a container of it but really haven't used it.  I believe I got mine from Wal-mart.  Coconut oil is solid at room temperature but melts to the touch.  Cindy also uses it on her hands as a moisturizer. 
This week I was in the mood for brownies but didn't have any vegetable oil.  How would coconut oil work?  I had my doubts when the oil could be seen in the batter in tiny balls but I threw the pan in the oven anyway.
They tasted great!  I just used a boxed recipe and the coconut oil added something special.  It didn't taste coconutty it just tasted yummier than usual.
I'm going to use it to grease my pan for some shrimp later on this week.  I think it's going to be just as good as though brownies.  Thanks Cindy!

Consignment Sales!

I've received several notifications on the upcoming children's consignment sales!!!  I dearly love these sales.  It's become almost unbearable to purchase my children clothing at retail price.  I will list the local sales so we can print out the dates and locations. 
If you are interested in shopping one of these sales for the first time I wrote a tutorial for you.  I also wrote a tutorial on consigning for the first time here.

Children's Clothing Exchange (CCE) Old Bruno's building off Vaughn Rd., Montgomery
Sat. Feb. 5th 9am-6pm through Friday Feb. 11th
1/2 off days Sat. Feb. 12th 9am-6pm through Monday Feb 14th

(This particular sale also sells second hand women's clothing and accessories at the same time)

Kids Carousel Old Sam's building on Eastern Bypass, Montgomery
Sat. Feb.5th 9am-6pm through Feb. 9th
1/2 off days Monday, February 7th 9am-6pm through Friday Feb. 11th
75% off Saturday, February 12th 9am-3pm

My Kids Attic Eastbrook Shopping Center Coliseum Blvd., Montgomery
Saturday, February 12th 9:00 am - 6:00 pm through Tuesday, Feb. 15th

1/2 days  Wednesday, February 16th 9:00 am - 6:00 pm through Saturday Feb. 19th

Doodlebugs Wetumpka
Saturday, March 5 8:00 - 4:00 pm through Thursday, March 10th 9-6

1/2 Days Friday, March 11 9:00 - 6:00 pm and Saturday, March 12 8:00 - 4:00 pm

Mom's Marketplace Hwy 82 West, Prattville
Not yet announced any sale dates.

A New Love

My husband and his buddies are big fans of paintball.  They meet in camo in the woods and spend a few hours shooting at each other.  I was invited to go and actually went.  This was a great excuse for Chuck to purchase more equipment. 
That morning I was quite nervous.  I kept imaging awful scenarios; what if I have to use the bathroom, I'm going to fall and break an arm, what if I get hit and cry! 
The first game I was suppose to defend my team's "flag".  I thought I picked a good hiding spot but I felt silly sitting there waiting.  After a few minutes I could hear guns going off and decided I should move around a bit.  I never saw anyone to shoot at and no one saw me either.  That was a bit of a let down. 
The next few rounds got much better.  I must say I enjoyed shooting that gun at someone immensely.  I did get shot twice, once in the shoulder and another on the top of my head.  It did sting.  But I got two people too!  One was on the other team but sadly and most embarrassingly the other was one of my own team members.  I understand the term "friendly fire" now.
I can also understand how my husband can talk about a morning of paintball for days.  My legs are no longer sore and I'm excited to get to go again!  The above suit would really come in handy.

Another Favorite Gift

I've been wanting the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia's of Crafts and Sewing.  Chuck gave me both of them for Christmas!

These books are full of great ideas.  This year I'd like to make handmade gifts for birthdays and Christmas.  I'm eager to pick something to craft as soon I get all this Christmas stuff back into the attic.  We got all the outside stuff down and the kids' trees packed up.  All that's left is the big tree and some little decorations.

Swirl, Tap, Buff

I received really great gifts that I'm still playing with.  My mom and husband both gave me pretty packages of make-up!  All Bare-Minerals.  I never wear foundation because it looks like I'm doing a poor job of covering my freckles.  It never looked natural.  But I've wanted to try Bare-Minerals when I want to look more polished.  So far I love it.  You put on with a swirl, tap and buff.  I feel more put together and younger.  It makes me feel like a teenager when I spent hours getting ready.  I don't spend hours now but I have spent a little more time and it's been fun!  Thank you Mom and Chuck.  Love you!

Where Have 2 Weeks Gone?!

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post!  I've been very busy as I'm sure you have been as well.  We've had both of our children sick at different occasions.  And shopping for last minute gifts which I promise not to do every year. 

We also had our very last church event "The Ugly Sweater Party" that I was in charge of.  My hot gravy fountain worked out great!  I regrettably did not get of photo of that but I did get lots of photos of the people who attended in my "family room"!  We set up a small stage and put some furnishings on it for families to pose for their picture.  This was VERY popular with the kids.  They had to "shooed" off frequently.

Our Christmas morning was quite nice.  This year Chuck and I held back with the presents for the kids.  In the past we've overspent and it was just too much.  I would end up taking things to a consignment sale just 2 months later.  This time we only bought what we thought they would truly love and play with for a long time.

Home Made Hostess, Gift #2

I was in need of something festive to wear to a Christmas party last week.  Gaudy and over sized accessories appeal to me a great deal so whatever it was had to go along those lines.  I was inspired by Magpie Ethel's collection of vintage Christmas corsages and decided to make one of my own.
This summer I purchased two different kinds of vintage tinsel, one gold and the other silver at yard sales for a few quarters.

I also had a bag of "Swedish molds" from an estate sale that I just had to have but didn't know what I was going to do with them.  After flattening them, I glued cut tinsel all around the edges.  Then added some vintage birds also from yard sale.

They blended together to make a wonderful accessory! 

Home Made Gift #1

I saw this idea on one of my favorite blogs, Deep Space Sparkle and knew Katherine could do it as a gift to her Nonna.  She saw Katherine's lizard this summer and wanted a painting like it.

We used a Masonite board which I will never do again.  The label said the board was primed and ready for paint.  But the paint scratched off very easily so the finished project had to be decoupaged.
I did the main drawing except for the legs.  Katherine is fond of making a tiny tiny drawing on a large piece of paper instead of using the entire surface and I just don't have the patience lately to do a lengthy art lesson. 

Look at her, she's just so proud!
Thank you Patty for another wonderful gift.

The Float, It Was Not Fun

I was in charge of our church's float in the town's Christmas parade this year.  I had no idea it was going to be a very time consuming and emotionally draining adventure.  NOTHING was easy.  I've already mentioned having to make the costumes as they had disappeared.  My friend Stephanie helped me cut out and sew.  I had forgotten a lot about reading a pattern.  My sewing machine gave me a lot of trouble then I realized it was Charlie going behind my back changing the thread tension.  Then I had a spool of bad thread that kept breaking.  It was not fun.

The stable that we use is stored behind a storage building and is in the elements year round.  This makes for a very unstable stable.  I had a lot of help with fixing that problem but it did not go as I planned.  We were at the last minute making sure it wasn't going to fall on anyone.  It was not fun.
Mom and I spent an afternoon using zip ties to add garland and greenery to the trailer but having to watch Charlie at the same time.  It was not fun.

The day of the event the sky looked very "rainy".  That was more than I could handle.  I had a melt down and later had to apologize to my parents.  Getting hysterical was kind of fun.
It did not rain and the event did end up going smoothly.  People were so nice and shouted very sweet things about how great the float looked.  And we were in the paper the next morning.  What a great ending!

Disappointing Movie

We spent last Sunday night relaxing and watching Jim Carrey in "A Christmas Carol".  I remember this movie not getting very good reviews so we didn't go to the movies to see it.  I'm so happy we didn't.  It is made by Disney and marketed to kids but it is not a kid movie.  The story went very much by the book and had some really freaky characters, like their version of the ghost of Christmas Past. 

The animation also had some surprises.  Every teenage boy in the movie was given quite a bit of acne.  This may have really been historically correct but we don't need or expect such accuracy in an animated film.  There wasn't any funny parts to lighten things up and my kids were just bored.  It was just plain weird.  I'll stick to my "A Muppets Christmas Carol" and my very favorite version of this story is George C. Scott as Scrooge.





Some Unique Gift Ideas

My husband receives the "Think Geek" catalog in the mail.  We had a good time flipping through it and laughing at their cleverness.  Last year they had the "Tauntaun" sleeping bag that I wrote about
but I especially like these 2 items this year.

I found these for the kids. 

My daughter would really LOVE this hoodie.  I might have to add some $ to her Christmas budget.

This is the Iron Man chest light.  It clips to any shirt, lights up, and makes noises!  Fun!

Happy Anniversary To Me!

Today is our 12the wedding anniversary!  Which we both forgot until late this morning.  We are not the most romantic of couples but we rarely fight so that equals out I think.  I'm so thankful to Chuck's parents.  They raised an awesome man.  I remember seeing Chuck for the first time my senior year of high school.  I thought he was the best looking boy there.  He spent a lot of class time reading books (ignoring the teachers) but somehow managing to have this reputation of being a genius.  Definitely a man of mystery.  I was intrigued and I still am.  I love you Chuck!

New Family Photo

I'm in charge of the church Christmas party this year.  I choose to do an "ugly sweater" theme.  I'm so excited!  This weekend I worked on my family's sweaters so we could take this family photo.  I think it turned out pretty cute.  I just love Chuck's resigned look.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Charlie wasn't feeling cooperative today.

One of My Favorite Movies

I watch this movie every Christmas season, "One Magic Christmas".  My husband usually finds me sniffling even when I try to hide.  Normally I do not recommend emotional movies as they leave me drained but this one is special. 
I like it because I can relate to the main character, a flustered mom.  I too feel at times that I'm the only one in the house with any sense of reality and responsibility.  I know this is not the case but being rational is not one of my strengths.  For example, I can be a real penny pincher. Recently, I threw a fit when my husband threw a $10 bottle of honey into the shopping cart without me knowing until I reviewed the receipt.  He was thinking that he got the most for the money and I'm thinking that $10 is just outrageous for honey!  It totally ruined my "savings in coupons" and "total money spent" ratio on the receipt.  I returned it and bought the cheap honey bear.
Back to the movie, this mom is struggling with having a Christmas spirit in the midst of her husband being laid off, working for a jerk of a boss, and just being "Mom".  She learns the hard way what life would be without her children and her husband.  It's a great story with a good ending. Love it!

Getting Ready for Christmas!

I started my decorating last week.  My kids both have Christmas trees in their rooms.  Katherine is now on her 2nd tree.  The first I bought when she was born and we were living in an apartment so it was a small table top tree.  Now they both have 4 ft trees that I bought for less then $5 at Wal-mart on clearance along with all the trimmings.  They each have their own labeled box with a star and ornaments.  This has worked well with Katherine's handmade ornaments she comes home with each year.
I saw an idea somewhere about how to organize your ornaments using plastic cups.  Simply hot glue rows of cups onto a piece of cardboard that fit into your box.  You might wrap your glass ornaments in tissue then place them in the cup.  This has worked so great!

Katherine's tree...

Charlie's tree is kept on top of his dresser.  He's 2 and can't be trusted.

Onto some more decorating....

Pillow Pets, All the Rage

A year ago my daughter saw a commercial for pillow pets.  She spent her birthday money on the horse since the unicorn wasn't available.  I wasn't willing to spend $19.99 on the toy then an additional $9 for shipping but she was.  She has LOVED it intensely and so has Charlie.  He is known for sneaking into her room and stealing it.  His Marmie bought him the dog soon after the horse was such a hit.  This year she bought them both another one for their birthday.  We now own the horse, the unicorn, the dog, and the bee.  They are all very much loved.  Today they were all under the living room in a fort made with my robe.
Now that pillow pets are in stores everywhere, I would suggest these as a gift for any child.  I'm thinking about getting one for myself.  They're the perfect size for your lap on a long car trip.  Maybe I'll get the ladybug.

Our Charlie is 2!

We spent most of last week celebrating Charlie's birthday.  We went out to eat on his actual birthday then he opened gifts from us after eating a small cupcake from Publix.

This past weekend we had a small party and ate my "candy mountain" cake.  I don't know what it is lately but my cakes don't look anything like my inspirations.  I was told by the guests that the cake tasted good.  At least that's what they said to my face.

Katherine's cake from last month was just as ugly.  Who put those candles on so wonky??!!

Back to Charlie....

He's rather difficult to capture on film not making faces. 

My New Closet!

I'm so excited to have completed this project!  You might remember this "before" photo from the beginning of this year when one of my resolutions was to be more organized.  Well 11 months later.....I got started.   It took only 3 days to complete.  I got rid of 5 bags of clothing, shoes, purses, and any clothing hangers that were not white.  I also removed the dirty laundry basket to another location.
After putting all my clothes on matching hangers I color coded them from light to dark.  I had no idea I wear so much black.
Well, here she is after some wallpaper, shelves, and a new light fixture!

I'm beaming with pride.  If you come over, you will be pulled through several unfinished rooms to come see this one!