Things We Love Thursdays: Savers

I stumbled up this thrift store on accident.  We were driving home from Utah a while ago and let's just say it was NOT a fun trip.  The kids were tired and not interested in sitting in the car for 10 hours.  So we made a stop to let them get out and run around.  We walked into Savers having no idea what kind of a store it was.  But the first thing I saw were the shelves and shelves of books and didn't make it any further than that!

They had so many used books in great condition and most were a dollar or less.  Plus they have a promotion where you buy 4 and get the 5th free.  Yeah, I was in heaven! We got a few books for me and some for the kids.  They were happy to have something "new" to read and look at in the car and I was happy it bought us at least a few minutes of sanity.  :)

I have to say, I've been to several Savers now and really couldn't tell you about the rest of the store -- the books and I are besties.  :)  But it looks really clean inside so I'm sure they have more great finds.  I'm thrilled that they *just* put one in down the street from me!!!  I will have a fabulous library built up in no time.

-marie

Glow in the Dark Halloween Art with Mod Podge

Chelsea and I were talking the other day about how much we LOVE decorating for Halloween.  It's probably my favorite holiday in terms of decorating.

I was so excited to get this fabulous box of Mod Podge products to try.  The Glow in the Dark Mod Podge was the first thing to catch my eye and I knew I needed a glow in the dark decoration in my house.  :)










Items used:

• 4 pieces of wood 12x12
• black craft paint
• sand paper
• images cut out on cardstock (I found some images online I wanted and used my Cricut to cut them out, but you could just as easily cut them out by hand.  Here are the links for the images I used: skull, owl, bats, and spider)
• Vintage Mod Podge
• Glow in the Dark Mod Podge
• Mod Podge roller
• Paintbrush
• Stickles

For this project I used some wood scraps leftover from a previous project.  I got a large sheet of wood cut at Home Depot in 12x12in squares.  I started off by giving the wood a couple good coats of paint.  I found that spray paint doesn't work well on this type of wood, but craft paint works perfectly!

I applied Vintage Mod Podge to the entire surface of each board with the handy roller applicator.  You can use regular Mod Podge but I like the look of the Vingate for this project.  It makes the stark white cardstock a little yellow-ish and aged.

I carefully placed the images on and used a flat-edged tool (a credit card works well, too!) to smooth it down and remove any bubbles.  Then I applied a second coat of Vintage Mod Podge.

Once that was completely dry I added 4 coats of Glow in the Dark Mod Podge to make sure it was nice and "glow-y".  

After that was dry I added a little spider web and hour glass to the spider block.  And now all that's left to do is wait for it to get dark to watch the magic happen!

So here's what my mantle looks like during the day:

And here's what happens to the blocks when it gets dark:

As my almost 3 year old twins say, "Ooooh, it's spooooky!"   :)

So there you have it.  A fun, easy, SPOOKY Halloween project!

I wrote this post as a part of a paid campaign with Plaid and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

You can find more info about Mod Podge and other Plaid products here:

• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/InspiredByPlaid
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PlaidCrafts
• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/PlaidCrafts

-marie

Linked to: Ginger Snap Crafts, House of Hepwroths, Sugar and Dots, Lil Luna, Rae Gun Ramblings, Fireflies & Jellybeans, 

WIWW- Fall is in the Air

Tank- Target

Jacket- Wet Seal

Jeans- Nordstrom Rack

Boots- makemechic.com

Bracelets- forgot

Earings- 99 cent store

Necklace- Nordstrom Rack

Fall is my favorite time of year! I love the weather, the clothes and all the good food! When I first saw this bomber jacket I fell in love with the color and style of it and had to have it! This year I wanted a new pair of boots and my cute friend Cassidy told me to check out makemechic.com for some boots and I found these ones there!

I love monogramed things and I was at Nordstrom Rack a few weeks ago and found this cute necklace for only $2. 

-chelz

Linked to: Rae Gun Ramblings, The Pleated Poppy, Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled Up Pretty PS Bananas & Transatlantic Blonde

Books I have Read- Chelz

Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I completely appreciated the style in which this book was written. It starts off with a count down to midnight and you are immediately wondering what happens at midnight. The whole time I was reading in the back of my mind I knew it was all leading to this one event that occurs at 12am! This book had a different and fun concept and I found myself staying up late to find out what happens. I did struggle however with Jacob because there were times I wanted him to grow a back bone, but it all worked out in the end!


The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a good change of pace for me from the types of book I have been reading. It did take me a few chapters to get into it but I was glad I stuck with it. There were so many twists and turns in this book and I really enjoyed to story. It was a good quick read!


Balthazar by Claudia Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I did not give it 5 stars solely for the ending. I loved Balthazar from the first moment he was introduced in Evernight! Although I had issues with the Evernight series I was excited to read about Balthazar. I was not disappointed, however the ending leaves you with more questions than answers. She leaves so much room for their story to continue and I want to know what happens next.

-chelz

WIWW: Plato's Closet

A couple months ago I took a trip to Utah to visit with family.  My sisters introduced me to this great little place called Plato's Closet.  It's a gently used clothing store with cute & stylish clothes.  I loved it!  You know it's a good place when all four of us walked out with new (to us!) clothes.  Too bad there's not one close to me!

cardi: Syles For Less
shirt: Plato's Closet
shorts: AE
sandals: Discount Shoe Factory

-marie

Linked to: Rae Gun Ramblings, The Pleated Poppy, Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled Up Pretty PS Bananas & Transatlantic Blonde

Pinned It, Tried It: A Couple of Cards

I have found so much card inspiration on Pinterest lately!  I have so many cute cards on my Pinterest card board and since my stash is running low I figured now would be a good time to make some.

The pink and grey combo is what really caught my eye on this card.  I didn't have those colors but used the layout to create my own.  One of these days I'll have to make a pink/grey version for sure!






Here's my version:
 

I love the look of this card and it was a super quick and easy card to make.  I'll even give you the measurements so you can make one, too.  :)

Here's my version: 

Measurements:
card: 4.25"x5.5"
orange: 4"x5.25"
chevron: 3.5"x3"
turquoise: 3.25"x2"

-marie

Things We Love Thursdays: Laughing Cow Cheese

I absolutely LOVE Laughing Cow Cheese.  It is so yummy and is low in calories.  I love to eat it spread on crackers, in place of mayo on sandwiches, or mixed in with tuna.  I've tried almost every flavor and I haven't found one I didn't like.  

I recently came across a recipe blog called Green Lite Bites.  She works with Laughing Cow and comes up with all kinds of recipes to use it in.  My favorites are the tuna melts and nacho cheese dip.  Mmmm!

How do you eat Laughing Cow Cheese?

-marie

WIWW: Pencil Skirt & Stripes

 

I've always liked pencil skirts with a shirt tucked in, but have always thought they would look terrible on me because I have such a short torso.  But I finally decided to give it a try and I love the way it looks!  

shirt: Target

skirt: Papaya

shoes: Discount Shoe Factory

belt: thrifted

-marie

 

Linked to: Rae Gun Ramblings, The Pleated Poppy, Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled Up Pretty & Transatlantic Blonde

Pinned It, Tried It, Liked It: Lemon Zucchini Bread

Anyone else spend way too much time pinning cute ideas on Pinterest and not enough time actually doing those pins? Yep, that's me!  So I thought I'd start a new feature here called "Pinned It, Tried It" where I'll actually get around to making recipes and crafts and whatnot from Pinterest and report back what pins worked (and some that didn't!).

I've had lots of zucchini from my garden this year and this Lemon-Zucchini Loaf from Nancy Creative looked so beautiful.  I followed the recipe exactly and it was DELICIOUS! Very different from traditional zucchini loaves I've made -- it was light and refreshing.  My two-year-old twins devoured it!  If you've got some zucchini that needs to be used up, give this one a try! 

-marie

What I Read: August

Here's what I've been reading ....


The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Unfortunately this book never took off for me. I wasn't invested in the characters and found the dialog to be a bit lacking. I think it had good potential, but I just wasn't willing to wade through it for now. Maybe at some point I might come back to it.




Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society #2) by Ally Carter
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I absolutely adore this series! It is just so fun and fresh and the characters are so endearing. I love everyone in Kat's crew -- they all have their unique talents and funny little quirks. I also love that the books could be stand alone books. There are no major cliffhangers, just different heists. Can't wait to read the last in this series. February is too long to wait!  4.5 stars




Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This book took a loooong time for me to get through. I started on audio and although the narrator was good, I had such a hard time following what was happening that I finally switched to print so that I could re-read parts where I got lost. I liked the general concept and story line, but this world the author created was just so different and new and I had a hard time keeping names straight and understanding the technology and things that were going on. So for the first 3/4 of the book I had a hard time getting into it and wanting to pick it up to read. But the last 1/4 was great and I couldn't put it down. A very interesting book and I *hope* the next one will be easier to get through now that I have a better grasp on the "world". I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next!




Bitterblue (Graceling #3) by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I do think it was a bit drawn out, but I still found that I couldn't put the book down and wanted to find out how it would turn out. I thought Bitterblue was a great character and I loved her determination and raw emotions. I loved how this brought the series full circle. As much as I enjoyed Fire, it seemed sort of random to throw it into the middle of a series. But now I see that it was necessary to understand all that went on in Leck's reign and now Bitterblue's. I just love Kristen Cashore's writing and can't wait to read what she comes up with next!

Oh, and I found the epilogue by Death quite amusing. Don't skip reading it!!!




Rise of the Evening Star (Fablehaven #2) by Brandon Mull
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This one was a little slower in the beginning, though that may just be because I was reading it with my daughter and there was a lot that seemed to go over her head. But it picked up and of course, was a fabulous read!





My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was expecting this book to be amazing but instead it was just good. I liked the soul screamer lore -- it was very unique and I can see how this series could have potential. But I have to say I never really fell in love with Kaylee or Nash, and when I don't love the main characters, I have a harder time getting into the book. I actually loved Tod and would love to hear more of his story! It was a bit predictable, but all in all an entertaining read and I look forward to the rest of the series.

-marie