Follow the Leader(s)

I stumbled across blogging a few months ago when I typed in my living room paint color and hoped to find some complimenting paint colors for my kitchen.  I found references to these paint colors on a blog named Young House Love.  I started following them and reading their posts daily.

From YHL, I found Bower Power and Nesting Place.

(If I knew how to do screen shots, I would put some visuals up here for you)

I also keep up with my cousin, Laura, through her blog, LPC Interiors.


I am sure you have noticed something.  All of these blogs are major home DIY blogs.  Yes.  And they came around at just the right time.  After Rusty and I poured every cent into a nice down payment for the house, it was up to me to find ways to decorate it without breaking the budget.

I mean, we have been married for over 7 years, but we never really "lived" anywhere.  When we moved to Jacksonville, we lived with the mindset that we would be moving in less than 2 years.  We bought a used couch, love seat, desk, washer, dryer and a new mattress and kitchen table.  We moved back to Georgia with just the kitchen table and mattress.  In 2 years, we never put one nail hole in the wall for decor.


Then, we moved into the lovely "cabin" totaling about 300 square feet. 

                                                                   

(this is after we moved out and the next moved in)

Seriously, it is as small as it looks.  Through good times and bad times, we made it 3 years in that cabin.  Both the cabin and the generosity of our families got us into Sadie Court!

Oh - If you're doing the math and know the Jacksonville house and the cabin only total 5 years of our 7 married years, you would be correct.  He lived on a ship, and I lived in my bedroom for the first 2 years of marriage, hehe.

I digress....

The blogs that I started following have given me so much inspiration over the last few months.  I have completely transformed the bare, builder-beige, walls of this new construction home to a cozy home for the two of us.  Just like any good teacher, I have stolen so many ideas from blogs!  Reading these blogs on a daily basis gave me the urge to write one.  I know that my family and friends love to keep up with what we are doing, and we all don't get to talk as often as we would like to.  I also have lots of friends who like some of the DIY projects that I have done recently, and I would just love to pay it forward and inspire something in their home.

I don't know why you have chosen to follow me or read this, but I hope that something catches your eye!



Hunting and Gathering

Never before have I ever participated in the Black Friday craziness except for working that day for about 7 years in a row at both Kohl's in Hiram and Jacksonville.  I loved working that day because the shift just flew by, and you came home with great stories!  Well, this year I actually signed up to become part of this madness.  On the year I decide to participate, the stores decide to open at the earliest times ever!  Of course. 

Wal-Mart, 12 a.m. 
Old Navy, 12 a.m. 
Kohl's, 3 a.m. 
Belks, 4 a.m. 
Target, 4 a.m. 
GameStop, 5 a.m. 

My guide: Lisa Carpenter, my seasoned Black Friday shop-o-holic of a friend!

I started by getting text telling me to get a paper.  I stopped by the gas station and started studying and clipping while Rusty drove us home from Thanksgiving dinner.  Once home, I decided to organize my findings and coupons on a page-by-page cheat sheet for quick access. 

I know...Type A.  (Also, notice that there are several items that are clearly for me and not gifts for other people)  However, these came in extremely helpful when asking where items were.  I have no crazy stories, but I do have several observations.

1.  Wal-Mart had the scariest shoppers and was super unorganized.  They had no way to separate what you could and couldn't buy before midnight.  They also lost the keys to the video game cabinets when time to opening them came. 

2.  Old Navy had the best deals.  I bought 10 items at $5 each with a $10 off coupon!  The 1 hour wait in line went by fast, and Lisa and I kept it fun.

3.  I'm not sure Kohl's observed any kind of fire marshal code as you physically couldn't move in there!  However, all of their door busters were in the aisle that the lines formed in, so you could shop while you waited.

4.  Target was the most organized, yet they had the fewest deals (in my opinion).  The super center Target in Cumming used the food aisles to weave customers through a line that led to the registers.  Best idea ever!

5.  If you look like you play video games, Gamestop will spend minutes trying to get you to sign up for some Gamestop card; however, if you look like me and Lisa (whatever that is), they just ring you up and move you out!

6.  Having a size 6 foot really helped me out finding the last few pairs of $20 boots at Belks!  I love small feet!

7.  Even though I didn't need something or want something, I treated this like
everything else (a competition that I must win) and grabbed it anyway.  Then, I would consider it, allow rational thought to return and replace it.  I guess it is the thrill of the hunt that overtook me.

Overall, I came home with a trunk full of deals:

I wish I could tell you all of my deals, but I truly did buy lots of gifts for some who might be reading this!  I will tell you this one - the best one!  I got a Chi Flat Iron at Kohl's.  It was originally $129.99, on sale for 79.99, plus a 15% off coupon, plus a $10 off coupon, and it earned me a $10 Kohl's cash for later.  All in all, I figure it to costing me right at $52.00.  I have wanted a Chi for years!

 Basically, I had a great time holding on to a few hours of Thanksgiving break that I would have lost to just sleeping away.  Thanks, Lisa!

My platform. My mission statement.

I'm one young woman
with an old soul
trying to document the ins and outs of my daily life
living in The Promise Land
with the man of my dreams...

It's just me.