Thrifty Thursdays dressing in style

I love dresses. I have said it before and I'll say it again. LOVE.

This particular dress is most liked for its pockets. I love the way dresses and skirts feel, however - they are very limiting to what you can carry with you - and I personally like to be hands free. Therefore,to the designer who started putting front pockets in dresses - a big pat on the back.

In addition, the polka dot heels are an added bonus. (Though you typically would catch me sporting flip flops - I could make an acception!)

Where have I been?

Last week was a crazy time - finishing finals and grading....and the weekend was a time of rest/caos. I start work again tomorrow (Summer School!) so this post is deticated to children. I will be teaching four precious 4/5 year old boys with severe disabilities - 3/4 of the class have no speech - it will be, at the very least, a quiet experience! :) I am excited, yet nervous.

I LOVE European toys - I grew up on Ravenburger games. Still, to this day, they are my favorite. I feel they are well designed and fun. They are timeless.

My favorite recent toy company is HABA. Currently, I am obbessed with the knight theme - for anything. I love this game - Castle Knights. I think cooperative games are most important - it's not always about winning!

Quack Quack is cute enough to hold its own! The pieces all fit inside a drawstring bag, so this game can go anywhere with you. By the company Blue Orange , wooden games seem to be their thing

This strategy game is supposed to improve brainpower - which is something I could definitely use :) Pixel is a game that offers fun right away. The directions are not difficult, and up to four people can play. I feel this is alot like another game I used to play when I was younger....but the name escapes me!

Tuesday: A detication to two great items - PB and Cheese

Yesterday was SO hot, I didn't touch my computer at all. As soon as I got home from work, I plopped next to the air conditioning unit, turned it on high - and curled up and went to sleep. Heat makes me so tired!

Alas, today I am at work, with alot to do - but I need to write. Writing unrelated to grading, exams, students.

This weekend, Mr and I went into the city and ate peanut butter. We drove (not far) but paid a whole lot in parking - $50- to eat PB. And I loved every minute. We went to Peanut Butter Company - they have, hands down the best sandwiches you could ask for. If you are a fan of Peanut buttery goodness, this is definitely a must stop.

I had the Peanut Butter Cup - ground peanut butter kissed by a chocolately layer of Nutella. OMG Mr. had one of their sandwiches of the week. Which could only be described as something I never had before....and I don't know how I went on this long without experiencing such a taste.

So I found a recipe for Vanilla Cream Cheese. Make this. Spread PB and Apples over a bagel with vanilla cream cheese - and TA-DA! You have made yourself something amazing. Magic in your mouth.

Other options for peanut butter:

Make Grilled Cheese and Spread PB over it. (this is where my love for cheese reaches a new high)

Moving onto Grilled CHeese recipes...

The PopShop in South Jersey has over 30 different types of grilled cheese sandwiches...

and after salivating over their menu online...my favorite must be: Laurel. and for one reason only - pulled pork. *sigh*

Adventures in Weddingland

We are attending our last and final bridal show. I am excited - but Mr. is a little sadden. Which to me, is funny. He said he likes going to these things...and I secretly do too - However, we do not need anymore brochures on photography or bands...and we are too sheepish to say no thank you. So alas, we probably will come home with things we don't need and still unsure of what we do need...

What did we find? Stuff we already knew. Like that I LOVE the AWesome 80s Prom. If I had to plan my bach. party - this is definitely the place I would have it :)

Friday already?!

How can that be? I feel I am a day off. and usually it is the other way around - I usually think it is a day ahead....

But anyway Fridays on the Cheapside! and what screams cheap more than FREE!

Last week, I reported on the Come Out and Play Festival which takes place in NYC this upcoming weekend. I am going with a couple of friends (two friends = a couple) to the Ravenchase Hunt.
THAT is what I am here to report on :)

The Ravenchase Hunt is a mix between DaVinci Code and Amazing Race. And I love the Amazing Race. However, the hunt is around the city. You have clues and maps and objects to help you decipher codes to the next clue....

Thirfty Thursday

Motivation comes in drips and drabs for me. I am motivated to clean and organize the "craft" room - and then after a few minutes of shelving and re-shelving an eight year old's clothes, the motivation flies out the window. at lightening speed. So therefore,I have been procrastinating with the best this week. I have not touched my craft room .. I walk in, quickly become overwhelmed and then walk out to do something else.
Or I sit on the blow up mattress, for what it seems to be an enternity. Well, lucky for me, it isn't that long - five minutes tops. And I decide, in those moments, I don't need to buy a single thing. NOTHING else till I purge. and by purge I mean rid the house of all the clutter and debris that is stoppping me from seeing the floor in my so-called craft room.

However, that doesn't have to stop me from looking at items. online :0
and to follow suit - the website of the day would be, noneother than:
The Container Store!
I need to find containers and some sort of plan in order to better organize my crafty items in the closet, and kid stuff in the room. How can this be done??

I have too much stuff...and not enough crafty ideas.....

ho hum.

Adventures in Weddingland

All the added touches could make ones head explode!

We are getting married in the beginning of July 2009, and the heat will be enough to knock me right out of my dress..let alone anyone sitting in the seats waiting...in the still air!

Fan? Who's a fan? I am! I am!



I kinda like the fan with the program, it gives it a purpose. A duty. Well, rather than just something to wave in front of your face in the sweltering heat of July!

THe best website it seems for these type of "favors" is Bliss Wedding Market. They have a TON of neat favors, particularly fans.
I love this idea - putting the fans on each chair with attached program.

However, I don't want to run out of room on the fan for the program. I went to a wedding a few years ago, and the bride and groom wrote a little blurb about each person in the wedding party - I thought that was a great idea. That way, for those that don't know those people, they have an idea of who they are, how they know the couple.....

Would I have enough room in the fan to do that??

Ramblings of a Bride

I don't see myself as being overweight. I see myself as being unfit. out of shape. A little "uncomfortable". This is, until the day we bought a scale. The scale makes me look at myself differently - in a more harsh light.
I guess if I really sat down and thought about the changes in my body over the past four years, I would say HOLY COW! Where did all that come from?! But I don't really think about it. When my pants don't fit, I buy new ones. A dress too snug? Buy spankies. Or donate it. Never has been a problem. Until now.
I am beginning to dislike myself for this. What has become of me? I am not even in a self-pitying mood, but I can honestly say there has never been a point in my life where I didn't like myself....and 27 years (almost!) later - I am reaching that point...and I don't like it one bit.

So how do I change this? Well, I already own a library full of self help books - how to love yourself, how to gain control, You are worth something...the list could go on and on. I already sought out someone to talk with at points in my life.
The more I feel I am emotionally stable, the less healthy I am...does that make sense?

I decided I don't want to be that person that looks back and lived their 20s hiding themselves behind giant dresses and clothes that are too snug, too tight or altogether too manysizes too big.

Who have I become? I don't know. But I am trying to find that person again, that I personally found so endearing. Because she is trapped in this body. A body that is altogether too large for her......

Adventures in Weddingland

My mom came over two nights ago to watch the last episode of One Tree Hill - while we were getting ready, she yelled from the kitchen, "You know what Mr. (but she said his name) said to me over the weekend? He said he just couldn't wait to be married to you. I think thats sweet." I got goosepumps bc its true. Then yesterday I asked him about it, and he explained that he doesn't mind the planning of the wedding (unlike most men), he just doesn't like the long period of time before he can actually call me his wife. He said,"That's all I want. It seems silly to call you my girlfriend, or my fiance - I just want to be able to tell the world that your my wife. And now I have to wait over a year - it's too long." He is just too funny.

With that - let's talk about Who wants a "bride" idea? haha...I can't even take credit for the pun. But it still makes me chuckle.

There are a handful of kids coming to our wedding (unruly kids at that - or atleast some of them) and I stumbled upon an idea of "kid packs" - which I loved. We are going to make a kids table with a few sandbuckets full of activities.
These are just a few things I was thinking about putting in:

peg games
coloring books
crayons
cards
This was a picutre that I aw online - I love the wedding crayons and books! The paper dolls were an added touch :)

Mundane Mondays

Today may be the worst monday to get through - it is the last FULL Monday of teaching! And I think I may be worse than the kids...They talk to me and all I hear is "wah wah wah wah" - no actual words. I doubt that they are blurting out just noises. So I take it that it is my attention span.....short. now gone. totally.

Therefore, I found myself on a bunch of websites already this morning!

World Market - This site has a terra cotta pig grille. And it looks fancy enough to display it in my backyard proudly.

Mayhar DryGoods - The Entersite page is too adorable. I could actually not even enter the site - and instead, just sit and watch the little animals watch movies in the woods......I swear - im not delirous!

Delight - every day there is a different "delight" discounted!! How fabulous for my wallet. Today it's closet storage (which I don't need) but I'm crossing my fingers for the Smencils to be on sale. WHO doesn't want a smelly pencil?! How did I live this long without it!

However, the love canteen may have received THE ITEM of the day award! Thanks to Delight, I won't be without a heart.

"When a man's an empty kettle,

He should be on his mettle

And yet I'm torn apart.

Just because I'm presumin

'That I could be kinda human,

If I only had a heart.

I'd be tender — I'd be gentle

And awful sentimental

Regarding Love and ArtI

'd be friends with sparrows

And the boy who shoots the arrows

If I only had a heart. "

Where has the time gone?! Fridays late.

Fridays on the Cheap - a few days late...better than never!

What to do on a weekend - particulary this upcoming weekend. I thought about this moment all year long. Last year when I heard about the festival - I was a day too late - This year, I know in advance - alas...I still cannot attend! I am hoping someone can

give me some feedback!!

Come Out and Play 2008

This festival turns NYC into a playground for the weekend. Not just one park, one building. NYC. yes - the entire city! Hundreds of people congregate to play different games across each part of the city. Players play "life-sized Pong using only their ears to "hear" the ball. Payphones produced points and Tompkins Square Park became a putt-putt course. 200 people performed stunts to display on the Reuters screen in Times Square."(COAP website)

The list of activities seems to be endless....who doesnt want to play a Pacman on the side of a building. Or whiffle ball in the streets.

The best part -

ITS FREE!!!! gosh. I love NYC.